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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fall · trunk · roll · press · degree · calf · court · wound

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. roll — a list
  3. fall — to drop
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. court — for sport
  8. press — to push
  9. fall — the season
  10. court — of a king
  11. roll — a cake
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — an amount
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. press — a publisher
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. press — newspapers
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. court — of law
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. fall — to drop
  24. wound — an injury

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