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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. last — final
  3. ground — crushed
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. last — to go on
  6. spell — a short time
  7. tube — a container
  8. last — finally
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. tube — the underground
  11. spell — letters
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. shower — rain
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. wake — a trail
  18. shower — to wash
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. ground — a position
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. ground — the earth
  24. spell — magic

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