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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. court — for sport
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. board — to get on
  10. kid — child
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. bat — the animal
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. prune — to trim
  17. board — a committee
  18. rock — music
  19. rock — a stone
  20. kid — to tease
  21. prune — to trim
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. court — of law
  24. court — of a king

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