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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. kid — to tease
  4. press — to push
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. press — a publisher
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. prune — to trim
  10. branch — a division
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. kid — child
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. press — newspapers
  20. toast — bread
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — in cards

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