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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. pitch — completely
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. drill — a practice
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. drill — the tool
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — rain
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. dip — to sink
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. foot — a measure
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. drill — army training
  17. wake — a trail
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. pound — a weight
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. date — the fruit

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