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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: trunk · cold · calf · coach · press · saw · net · club

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. press — to push
  3. press — a publisher
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. cold — an illness
  6. press — newspapers
  7. club — for dancing
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. net — for catching
  11. saw — the tool
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. saw — the tool
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. club — a group
  21. net — in sport
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. net — after costs
  24. club — for golf

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