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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
468
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: root · press · bat · toast · hand · trunk · season · hide

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. root — of a plant
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. bat — the animal
  9. hand — help
  10. season — in sport
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. press — to push
  13. toast — bread
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. root — of a word
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. season — of the year
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. root — the cause
  21. press — a publisher
  22. press — newspapers
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. toast — the most admired

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