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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: wound · arm · hand · staff · tear · trunk · snap · court

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  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. trunk — of a tree
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wound — an injury
  6. hand — in cards
  7. tear — to rip
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. staff — a stick
  10. staff — employees
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. staff — employees
  15. court — of a king
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. snap — to click
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wound — an injury
  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