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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: press · wound · face · stem · wind · court · trunk · craft

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. wound — an injury
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — newspapers
  6. face — to confront
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. face — to point toward
  9. court — of a king
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. craft — boats
  13. court — for sport
  14. wind — moving air
  15. craft — a skill
  16. face — part of the head
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wound — an injury
  21. press — to push
  22. court — of law
  23. wind — moving air
  24. stem — to come from

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