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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: court · last · wind · bulb · trunk · fan · bay · press

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. last — to go on
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. last — final
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. press — newspapers
  12. court — for sport
  13. last — finally
  14. wind — moving air
  15. court — of law
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. bulb — for light
  22. press — to push
  23. court — of a king
  24. trunk — of a tree

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