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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: fan · tear · press · bay · lean · trunk · clip · calf

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. lean — to bend
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. press — a publisher
  8. clip — to cut
  9. tear — to rip
  10. clip — for paper
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. lean — thin
  14. tear — from crying
  15. press — newspapers
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. clip — a video
  22. tear — from crying
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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