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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 116 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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. fork — in a road
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. staff — employees
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. court — of a king
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. chair — a leader
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. staff — employees
  14. kick — in football
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. hand — help
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. court — of law
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. staff — a stick
  23. hand — in cards
  24. bark — to shout

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