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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: staff · fork · spell · trunk · swing · mug · court · wave

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. staff — a stick
  3. swing — to play on
  4. mug — to rob
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. mug — a cup
  7. mug — a face
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. spell — a short time
  11. court — for sport
  12. staff — employees
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. fork — in a road
  15. spell — letters
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. swing — music
  18. spell — magic
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. staff — employees
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. court — of a king
  24. swing — in golf

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