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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  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. date — the fruit
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a document
  5. court — for sport
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. ball — a great time
  8. stand — to bear
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. roll — a cake
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — of law
  15. squash — to crush
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. ball — a dance
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. roll — a list
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. file — a line of people
  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