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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: press · trunk · wind · prune · wave · tear · perch · chest

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. press — to push
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. tear — from crying
  11. press — newspapers
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. tear — to rip
  15. perch — the fish
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. press — a publisher
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. tear — from crying

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