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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. press — to push
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — newspapers
  6. rule — a law
  7. court — of a king
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. bark — to shout
  10. face — to point toward
  11. court — for sport
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. court — of law
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — the season
  19. face — to confront
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. rule — government
  22. face — part of the head
  23. spring — of water
  24. trunk — of a car

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