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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 · drill · squash · spell · stem · fork · toast

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. stem — to come from
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. drill — a practice
  6. court — for sport
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. fork — in a road
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. spell — letters
  12. squash — the sport
  13. drill — the tool
  14. court — of law
  15. toast — bread
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. drill — army training
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — the fruit
  20. squash — to crush
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. spell — a short time
  23. court — of a king
  24. fork — a garden 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