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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 120 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 · last · court · bulb · rule · present · band

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. press — a publisher
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. present — a gift
  5. last — to go on
  6. present — the time now
  7. rule — a law
  8. court — of law
  9. bulb — for light
  10. band — a ring
  11. bulb — for light
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. last — finally
  14. present — there
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. court — for sport
  17. last — final
  18. press — to push
  19. press — newspapers
  20. band — a music group
  21. court — of a king
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. rule — to rule out

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