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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. date — the fruit
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. court — of a king
  9. row — to paddle
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. squash — to crush
  14. squash — the sport
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. row — a line
  17. kick — in football
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. court — for sport
  20. rush — hurry
  21. shower — to wash
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. shower — rain

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