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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: board · court · press · lash · trunk · ground · kid · racket

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. ground — crushed
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. court — of law
  8. press — to push
  9. kid — to tease
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — the earth
  12. board — to get on
  13. kid — child
  14. board — a committee
  15. press — a publisher
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — for sport
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. press — newspapers

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