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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. lean — to bend
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. press — a publisher
  6. file — a document
  7. band — a ring
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a tool
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. swing — to play on
  12. wound — an injury
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. swing — music
  19. press — to push
  20. press — newspapers
  21. lean — thin
  22. band — a music group
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. swing — in golf

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