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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
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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: press · safe · trunk · swing · saw · wound · court · present

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. wound — an injury
  3. court — of a king
  4. swing — to play on
  5. present — a gift
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. press — newspapers
  9. present — there
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. saw — the tool
  15. court — for sport
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. press — a publisher
  18. court — of law
  19. wound — an injury
  20. swing — music
  21. present — the time now
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. swing — in golf

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