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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: trunk · drill · snap · suit · press · march · wave · straw

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. march — the month
  6. snap — to click
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. suit — to fit
  9. press — newspapers
  10. drill — the tool
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. suit — clothes
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. press — to push
  17. suit — in cards
  18. march — the month
  19. drill — army training
  20. press — a publisher
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. march — music
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. drill — a practice

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