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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 · swing · court · pitcher · board · land · sharp · fall

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. fall — to drop
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. swing — in golf
  6. fall — the season
  7. sharp — clever
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. fall — to drop
  10. court — for sport
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. court — of law
  13. land — a country
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — ground
  16. board — to get on
  17. board — a committee
  18. court — of a king
  19. swing — to play on
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. swing — music
  24. trunk — of a car

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