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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mark — a trace
  3. drill — the tool
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. stock — goods
  7. mate — a partner
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. date — the fruit
  10. shower — to wash
  11. fork — in a road
  12. mate — to breed
  13. mark — a grade
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. stock — shares
  16. shower — rain
  17. drill — a practice
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. tear — to rip
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. tear — from crying
  22. drill — army training
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. tear — from crying

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