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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: calf · cue · court · capital · trunk · pop · bat · bark

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. court — for sport
  5. capital — a city
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pop — soda
  8. capital — money
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. pop — music
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. cue — for pool
  15. cue — a signal
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bat — the animal
  18. court — of law
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. court — of a king
  21. cue — a hint
  22. bark — to shout
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. pop — to visit

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