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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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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: prune · foot · squash · toast · court · pit · roll · chip

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. squash — the sport
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. pit — a hole
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. court — of law
  9. roll — a list
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. prune — to trim
  14. court — of a king
  15. roll — a cake
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. foot — a measure
  19. chip — to eat
  20. chip — for betting
  21. squash — to crush
  22. court — for sport
  23. prune — to trim
  24. pit — in a race

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