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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. march — the month
  3. staff — employees
  4. mug — to rob
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. court — for sport
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. ball — a dance
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mug — a face
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. march — music
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. staff — employees
  18. mug — a cup
  19. march — the month
  20. wound — an injury
  21. court — of law
  22. staff — a stick
  23. court — of a king
  24. ball — a great time

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