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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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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: trunk · kid · rest · press · wave · march

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. press — to push
  3. press — newspapers
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. rest — what's left
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. march — the month
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. rest — what's left
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. march — the month
  12. press — a publisher
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — child
  18. rest — a break

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