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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: kick · last · snap · press · nail · trunk · tear · bowl

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. press — to push
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. last — finally
  12. last — final
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. kick — in football
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. press — a publisher
  17. tear — to rip
  18. press — newspapers
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. last — to go on
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. tear — from crying

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