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

Word bank: trunk · chair · fork · racket · roll · kid · march · mug

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. kid — to tease
  3. chair — a leader
  4. march — the month
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. mug — a cup
  8. roll — a list
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. kid — child
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. fork — in a road
  15. mug — to rob
  16. mug — a face
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. march — the month
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. roll — a cake
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. march — music

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