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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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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: firm · court · hand · ground · fork · trunk · club · snap

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. fork — in a road
  3. club — for dancing
  4. snap — to click
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. court — of a king
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. hand — help
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. firm — steady
  11. hand — in cards
  12. firm — a company
  13. club — a group
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. court — of law
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. court — for sport
  19. ground — crushed
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. firm — decided
  22. ground — a position
  23. club — for golf
  24. ground — the earth

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