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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 · date · bay · court · bat · stick · fork · racket

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. court — for sport
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. date — the fruit
  6. spring — the season
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. court — of law
  17. spring — of water
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — in a road
  20. bat — the animal
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. court — of a king

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