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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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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 · pit · wind · press · trunk · object · race · tear

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. press — to push
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. wind — moving air
  8. object — to protest
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. press — newspapers
  11. race — a contest
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. pit — in a race
  14. tear — to rip
  15. race — the arms race
  16. season — in sport
  17. press — a publisher
  18. season — of the year
  19. pit — a hole
  20. object — an aim
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. race — humankind
  23. tear — from crying
  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