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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. press — newspapers
  6. press — to push
  7. land — a country
  8. press — a publisher
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. land — to come down
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. cap — of ice
  14. wake — a trail
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. saw — the tool
  19. cap — a hat
  20. land — ground
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. cap — a lid

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com