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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 · cell · race · roll · net · press · wake · dip

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. race — the arms race
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. net — in sport
  6. roll — a list
  7. press — to push
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. race — a contest
  11. press — a publisher
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. roll — a cake
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in biology
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. race — humankind
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. dip — to sink
  21. press — newspapers
  22. wake — a trail
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — after costs

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