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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: bat · trunk · field · present · wave · ball · press · scale

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. press — a publisher
  3. ball — a great time
  4. scale — in music
  5. field — a subject
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. present — there
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. field — farmland
  15. press — newspapers
  16. present — the time now
  17. bat — the animal
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. field — for sport
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. scale — size or range
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. present — a gift
  24. ball — a dance

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