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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've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. press — a publisher
  4. fine — all right
  5. key — for a lock
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. key — in music
  9. bat — the animal
  10. press — newspapers
  11. field — farmland
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. field — for sport
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. key — the most important part
  19. field — a subject
  20. fine — high quality
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. press — to push
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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