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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. land — ground
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. land — a country
  8. land — to come down
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. court — of law
  15. court — for sport
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. game — wild animals
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. date — the fruit
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. game — a match
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. court — of a king

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