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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. stem — to come from
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. shower — rain
  7. mate — a friend
  8. race — humankind
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a line of people
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. wake — a trail
  15. mate — to breed
  16. file — a document
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. race — a contest
  22. mate — a partner
  23. race — the arms race
  24. wake — before a funeral

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