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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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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: cold · fork · trunk · mark · court · game · board · bound

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. court — of law
  3. board — a committee
  4. bound — tied together
  5. court — for sport
  6. cold — an illness
  7. game — a match
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. mark — a trace
  10. fork — in a road
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. game — wild animals
  14. cold — not warm
  15. court — of a king
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. mark — a grade
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. bound — obliged
  24. board — to get on

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