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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — a line
  6. craft — a skill
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. pop — music
  13. tear — to rip
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. wake — a trail
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. row — to paddle
  19. craft — boats
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. chair — a leader
  22. pop — soda
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. pop — to visit

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