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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. date — the fruit
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. spell — letters
  7. suit — clothes
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. spell — magic
  12. suit — in cards
  13. wind — moving air
  14. court — of law
  15. spell — a short time
  16. squash — to crush
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. court — of a king
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. court — for sport
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. suit — to fit
  23. squash — the sport
  24. wind — moving air

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