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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: court · date · spell · game · rash · bark · pop · bore

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. spell — letters
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. pop — soda
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — magic
  8. game — a match
  9. court — of a king
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bore — to tire
  12. rash — a series
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. court — of law
  15. rash — hasty
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bark — to shout
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. pop — music
  22. court — for sport
  23. pop — to visit
  24. game — wild animals

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