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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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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: trunk · wind · racket · squash · fall · tear · press · cell

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. press — a publisher
  4. squash — the sport
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. fall — to drop
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. squash — to crush
  10. fall — the season
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wind — moving air
  13. press — to push
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — in biology
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. press — newspapers
  20. cell — a phone
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. wind — moving air

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