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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: fork · jam · cold · trunk · kick · fall · court · board

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fall — to drop
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fall — to drop
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. cold — not warm
  9. court — of a king
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. court — for sport
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. board — to get on
  14. board — a committee
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. court — of law
  17. kick — in football
  18. cold — an illness
  19. fall — the season
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. kick — with a leg

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