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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 · mine · bear · lash · pitcher · suit · date · toast

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. court — of law
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. suit — in cards
  8. bear — the animal
  9. date — the fruit
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. suit — clothes
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. suit — to fit
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. court — of a king
  21. bear — the animal
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — for digging
  24. court — for sport

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