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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
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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: clip · wind · press · file · leaves · wound · trunk · bowl

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. clip — for paper
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. press — to push
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. file — a line of people
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. file — a tool
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. press — newspapers
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. clip — to cut
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. file — a document
  22. press — a publisher
  23. clip — a video
  24. wind — moving air

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