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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. date — the fruit
  4. key — for a lock
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. wound — an injury
  7. spring — a coil
  8. key — in music
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bore — to tire
  11. field — for sport
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. key — the most important part
  14. can — a tin
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — farmland
  18. spring — the season
  19. can — to be able to
  20. bore — to drill
  21. can — a tin
  22. spring — of water
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. wound — an injury

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