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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. tube — the underground
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. tube — a container
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — the fish
  10. capital — money
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. mark — a grade
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. press — a publisher
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. press — to push
  22. mark — a trace
  23. press — newspapers
  24. capital — a city

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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