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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 116 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. bat — the animal
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. saw — the tool
  10. press — newspapers
  11. press — to push
  12. net — in sport
  13. wake — a trail
  14. last — final
  15. net — for catching
  16. saw — the tool
  17. press — a publisher
  18. last — to go on
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. last — finally
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. net — after costs
  24. coach — a trainer

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