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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: court · trunk · wound · fine · hand · file · ball · object

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. file — a tool
  3. wound — an injury
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. object — to protest
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — in cards
  8. fine — all right
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. court — of a king
  11. object — a thing
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. file — a line of people
  15. ball — a great time
  16. file — a document
  17. wound — an injury
  18. object — an aim
  19. ball — a dance
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. fine — high quality
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. court — for sport

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