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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 120 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: last · pit · press · kick · trunk · snap · track · hand

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. press — to push
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. last — final
  5. track — a song
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pit — in a race
  11. snap — to click
  12. press — newspapers
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. last — to go on
  17. track — a path
  18. press — a publisher
  19. last — finally
  20. track — to keep track
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. hand — help
  23. hand — in cards
  24. kick — in football

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