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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. court — of a king
  4. press — to push
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. mate — to breed
  8. press — a publisher
  9. kick — in football
  10. court — for sport
  11. mate — a friend
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. saw — the tool
  15. mate — a partner
  16. saw — the tool
  17. press — newspapers
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. rule — government
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. court — of law
  22. bark — to shout
  23. rule — a law
  24. kick — with a leg

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