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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 120 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: press · fork · straw · pitch · trunk · band · track · bowl

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. band — a music group
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. band — a ring
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. press — to push
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. press — a publisher
  15. pitch — completely
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. track — to keep track
  20. press — newspapers
  21. track — a song
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fork — a garden tool

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