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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · straw · date · season · file · chest · squash · rash

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. court — for sport
  3. file — a line of people
  4. file — a document
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. rash — hasty
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. date — the fruit
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — of law
  11. season — of the year
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. season — in sport
  15. rash — a series
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. chest — a box
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. chest — of your body
  22. squash — the sport
  23. chest — of your body
  24. file — a tool

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