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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: bark · trunk · squash · press · court · spring · lie · calf

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. spring — the season
  3. squash — to crush
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. lie — to recline
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. press — newspapers
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. squash — the sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. press — to push
  17. bark — to shout
  18. spring — of water
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. court — of law
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. court — for sport
  23. spring — a coil
  24. press — a publisher

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