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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: season · arm · bay · trunk · cold · press · spell · row

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. cold — not warm
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. spell — letters
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. press — to push
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. cold — an illness
  12. press — a publisher
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. press — newspapers
  16. row — a line
  17. season — of the year
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. season — in sport
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. spell — a short time
  22. row — to paddle
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. season — to add flavour

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