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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. date — the fruit
  5. row — a line
  6. mine — for digging
  7. march — the month
  8. mark — a trace
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. march — music
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. march — the month
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. mark — a grade
  20. shower — rain
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — to paddle
  23. shower — to wash
  24. mate — a friend

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