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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: chair · land · board · calf · trunk · kick · cap · court

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. land — to come down
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. board — a committee
  5. court — for sport
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. land — a country
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. cap — of ice
  11. land — ground
  12. court — of law
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. board — to get on
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — a lid
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. court — of a king
  19. chair — a leader
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. kick — in football

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