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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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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: wound · lean · trunk · court · firm · press · field · staff

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. press — newspapers
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. staff — a stick
  7. lean — to bend
  8. press — a publisher
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. staff — employees
  11. court — of a king
  12. field — a subject
  13. firm — steady
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. field — farmland
  16. firm — a company
  17. wound — an injury
  18. staff — employees
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. press — to push
  21. firm — decided
  22. wound — an injury
  23. field — for sport
  24. court — of law

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