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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  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. wound — an injury
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. date — the fruit
  6. land — to come down
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. fine — high quality
  9. tube — a container
  10. row — a line
  11. tube — the underground
  12. mate — a partner
  13. row — to paddle
  14. shower — to wash
  15. fine — all right
  16. wound — an injury
  17. land — ground
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. mate — to breed
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. land — a country
  23. shower — rain
  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