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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 116 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: wound · season · trunk · ruler · last · press · row · fine

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. last — final
  3. press — to push
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. wound — an injury
  6. last — to go on
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. last — finally
  11. press — a publisher
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. row — to paddle
  16. season — in sport
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. fine — high quality
  19. press — newspapers
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. season — of the year
  22. fine — all right
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. trunk — of a car

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