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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. mine — for digging
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — the fruit
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. rash — a series
  9. wake — a trail
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. cold — an illness
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. rash — hasty
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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