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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. bank — of a river
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. wound — an injury
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. march — the month
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. wind — moving air
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. bank — for money
  13. march — music
  14. press — a publisher
  15. bank — for money
  16. season — in sport
  17. march — the month
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. wind — moving air
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — to push
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. season — of the year
  24. trunk — of a car

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