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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 · tear · date · fine · calf · field · stick · court

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  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. squash — the vegetable
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. squash — to crush
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. fine — all right
  7. tear — from crying
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. court — for sport
  10. squash — the sport
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. field — a subject
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. court — of law
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. fine — high quality
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. tear — to rip
  20. date — the fruit
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — for sport
  23. calf — a young animal
  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