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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. drill — army training
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. board — a committee
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — of law
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — to visit
  14. cell — a phone
  15. board — to get on
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — to tease
  18. pop — soda
  19. scale — size or range
  20. drill — a practice
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. court — for sport
  23. drill — the tool
  24. cell — in biology

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