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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 124 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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Word bank
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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: press · trunk · wind · prune · wave · tear

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. press — a publisher
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. press — to push
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wind — moving air
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. prune — to trim
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. press — newspapers
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wave — a sudden rise

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