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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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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: cold · court · cap · bark · firm · press · bay · trunk

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. press — a publisher
  3. bark — to shout
  4. court — of law
  5. cap — of ice
  6. firm — a company
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. firm — steady
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. court — of a king
  13. press — newspapers
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. cold — not warm
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. cold — an illness
  20. press — to push
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cap — a hat
  23. firm — decided
  24. bay — a horse colour

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