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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 · clip · wake · pitch · trunk · court · game · date

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. press — newspapers
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. press — to push
  7. court — for sport
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. date — the fruit
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. game — a match
  12. game — wild animals
  13. press — a publisher
  14. clip — a video
  15. court — of a king
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — for paper
  21. wake — a trail
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. court — of law

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