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

Word bank: spring · toast · snap · trunk · foot · rest · squash · court

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — for sport
  3. squash — to crush
  4. foot — a measure
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. snap — to click
  10. squash — the sport
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. spring — the season
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. spring — a coil
  15. rest — a break
  16. court — of a king
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. spring — of water
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. rest — what's left
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. rest — what's left
  23. toast — bread
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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