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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: bat · toast · squash · trunk · cell · date · court · suit

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. cell — a phone
  3. suit — to fit
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. date — the fruit
  7. bat — the animal
  8. cell — in biology
  9. suit — in cards
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. court — for sport
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. court — of law
  17. suit — clothes
  18. squash — to crush
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. squash — the sport
  21. toast — bread
  22. court — of a king
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. trunk — of a car

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