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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 120 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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. field — a subject
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. press — a publisher
  7. clip — for paper
  8. field — for sport
  9. clip — to cut
  10. press — newspapers
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. field — farmland
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. press — to push
  15. rest — what's left
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. rest — a break
  18. clip — a video
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. dip — to sink
  22. rest — what's left
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. wake — a trail

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