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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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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 · hand · court · rule · cap · bark · race · trunk

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cap — a hat
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — to shout
  6. hand — help
  7. race — the arms race
  8. rule — a law
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. rule — government
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. race — humankind
  15. court — of law
  16. cap — of ice
  17. court — of a king
  18. press — newspapers
  19. race — a contest
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. hand — in cards
  22. press — a publisher
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. press — to push

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