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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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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: spell · roll · trunk · fall · file · race · kick · press

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. kick — in football
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. press — to push
  5. race — humankind
  6. spell — magic
  7. roll — a list
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a line of people
  11. race — a contest
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. spell — letters
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. press — newspapers
  19. spell — a short time
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — the season
  22. press — a publisher
  23. fall — to drop
  24. race — the arms race

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