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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. prune — to trim
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. prune — to trim
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. date — the fruit
  8. tear — from crying
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. mate — a partner
  11. tear — to rip
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. band — a ring
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. track — a path
  17. kid — child
  18. band — a music group
  19. track — to keep track
  20. tear — from crying
  21. kid — to tease
  22. mate — a friend
  23. track — a song
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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