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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. court — of law
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. court — of a king
  8. date — the fruit
  9. squash — to crush
  10. cold — an illness
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. toast — bread
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cue — for pool
  17. court — for sport
  18. cue — a hint
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. bat — the animal
  22. cue — a signal
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. squash — the 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