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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: press · track · club · chair · tear · trunk

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chair — a leader
  3. track — to keep track
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. press — to push
  6. tear — from crying
  7. track — a song
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. club — for golf
  11. tear — to rip
  12. press — a publisher
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. press — newspapers
  15. track — a path
  16. club — for dancing
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. club — a group

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