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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 120 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: rock · hand · bat · court · fork · board · trunk · charge

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. charge — in control
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. court — of law
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. fork — in a road
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. rock — music
  10. board — to get on
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. charge — electricity
  13. hand — in cards
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. hand — help
  17. charge — a price
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. court — of a king
  20. rock — a stone
  21. board — a committee
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. bat — the animal

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