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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: press · kid · land · ball · prune · trunk · present · straw

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. prune — to trim
  4. present — there
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. ball — a great time
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. ball — a dance
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. kid — child
  13. press — newspapers
  14. press — to push
  15. kid — to tease
  16. land — a country
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. press — a publisher
  19. present — the time now
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. land — ground
  22. prune — to trim
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. land — to come down

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