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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.

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: trunk · wind · track · hide · rash · spring · swing · press

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. spring — of water
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rash — a series
  6. swing — music
  7. press — to push
  8. press — newspapers
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. rash — hasty
  12. track — a song
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. track — a path
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. swing — to play on
  17. spring — the season
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. press — a publisher
  20. wind — moving air
  21. spring — a coil
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. swing — in golf
  24. hide — to keep secret

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