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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: dip · bound · present · trunk · court · bat · spell · fork

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. present — there
  3. court — for sport
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. bound — certain
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. present — the time now
  9. court — of law
  10. bound — obliged
  11. dip — to sink
  12. bound — tied together
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. court — of a king
  15. spell — letters
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. spell — a short time
  19. present — a gift
  20. spell — magic
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. fork — in a road
  24. trunk — of a car

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