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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. spring — of water
  3. band — a music group
  4. shower — to wash
  5. object — to protest
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. spring — the season
  10. pass — a permit
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. band — a ring
  13. object — an aim
  14. roll — a list
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. object — a thing
  20. shower — rain
  21. roll — a cake
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. spring — a coil
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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