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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: court · trunk · arm · bound · bowl · straw · mine · cap

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. mine — for digging
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. court — of law
  10. bound — tied together
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. court — of a king
  14. cap — of ice
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. bound — obliged
  18. court — for sport
  19. cap — a lid
  20. bound — certain
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. cap — a hat
  24. trunk — of a tree

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