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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 · pitcher · stick · row · bass · wind · trunk · kid

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. row — a line
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bass — low music
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. press — newspapers
  14. row — to paddle
  15. kid — child
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. press — to push
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. press — a publisher
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. bass — the fish

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