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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: rush · branch · press · face · court · bat · object · trunk

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. court — of law
  5. press — a publisher
  6. press — to push
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. bat — the animal
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. court — of a king
  11. branch — a division
  12. rush — hurry
  13. face — to confront
  14. press — newspapers
  15. object — to protest
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. object — an aim
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. court — for sport
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. object — a thing
  24. face — to point toward

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