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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. spell — a short time
  7. swing — music
  8. spell — magic
  9. spell — letters
  10. swing — to play on
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. court — of law
  13. court — for sport
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. wake — a trail
  16. rash — a series
  17. swing — in golf
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. date — the fruit
  20. scale — in music
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. scale — size or range

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