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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: prune · calf · race · press · wind · trunk

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. wind — moving air
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. press — to push
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — the arms race
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. race — humankind
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. press — newspapers
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. press — a publisher

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