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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: spell · squash · dip · degree · court · rush · date · season

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. dip — to sink
  4. spell — letters
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. rush — hurry
  7. season — in sport
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — the fruit
  11. degree — an amount
  12. court — for sport
  13. degree — from a university
  14. court — of a king
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. spell — magic
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. squash — the sport
  20. spell — a short time
  21. degree — temperature
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. squash — to crush
  24. season — of the year

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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