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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 116 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: trunk · press · tear · field · court · bank

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. 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. court — of a king
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — farmland
  4. tear — to rip
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. court — of law
  7. press — newspapers
  8. bank — for money
  9. field — for sport
  10. press — to push
  11. tear — from crying
  12. press — a publisher
  13. tear — from crying
  14. court — for sport
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — of a river
  18. 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