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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.

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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: saw · trunk · wind · calf · drill · press · track · face

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. track — to keep track
  3. saw — the tool
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. drill — the tool
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. track — a path
  10. press — to push
  11. face — part of the head
  12. drill — army training
  13. face — to confront
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. face — to point toward
  16. wind — moving air
  17. track — a song
  18. press — a publisher
  19. saw — the tool
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. drill — a practice
  24. press — newspapers

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