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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. court — of a king
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. row — a line
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. prune — to trim
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. court — for sport
  11. prune — to trim
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — child
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. ball — a great time
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. row — to paddle
  18. date — the fruit
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. squash — the sport
  21. squash — to crush
  22. court — of law
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. ball — a dance

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