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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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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. court — of law
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. present — the time now
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — for sport
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. hand — help
  12. fine — all right
  13. present — a gift
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. shower — rain
  17. fork — in a road
  18. shower — to wash
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. fine — high quality
  21. hand — in cards
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. present — there
  24. fan — a supporter

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