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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: kid · press · game · key · trunk · object · tear · fall

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. tear — from crying
  3. key — for a lock
  4. object — a thing
  5. object — to protest
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. key — in music
  10. kid — to tease
  11. tear — to rip
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. press — to push
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. game — a match
  16. key — the most important part
  17. object — an aim
  18. fall — to drop
  19. game — wild animals
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. kid — child
  22. press — newspapers
  23. tear — from crying
  24. press — a publisher

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