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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: tear · trunk · kick · spring · craft · hand · cap · press

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. spring — of water
  5. cap — a lid
  6. craft — a skill
  7. cap — of ice
  8. craft — boats
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. press — to push
  13. hand — in cards
  14. hand — help
  15. cap — a hat
  16. spring — the season
  17. press — newspapers
  18. spring — a coil
  19. kick — in football
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. tear — to rip
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. kick — a thrill

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