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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 · march · squash · object · leaves · date · jam · file

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. object — a thing
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. date — the fruit
  8. march — music
  9. object — to protest
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. court — of a king
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. court — for sport
  14. file — a tool
  15. court — of law
  16. squash — the sport
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. squash — to crush
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a line of people
  23. object — an aim
  24. leaves — lets stay

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