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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: squash · mine · mate · court · trunk · spell

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. mate — a friend
  5. spell — magic
  6. mate — to breed
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the sport
  9. spell — a short time
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. court — for sport
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mine — for digging
  15. spell — letters
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. court — of law

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