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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. bass — the fish
  3. game — wild animals
  4. chest — of your body
  5. press — newspapers
  6. game — a match
  7. press — a publisher
  8. craft — boats
  9. club — for dancing
  10. chest — of your body
  11. club — a group
  12. club — for golf
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. tear — to rip
  15. chest — a box
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. press — to push
  21. bass — low music
  22. craft — a skill
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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