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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: wake · squash · court · press · bark · rule · chest · foot

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. squash — to crush
  4. bark — to shout
  5. press — a publisher
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. court — of a king
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. chest — a box
  12. rule — a law
  13. chest — of your body
  14. press — newspapers
  15. squash — the sport
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. press — to push
  20. foot — a measure
  21. rule — government
  22. wake — a trail
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. court — of law

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