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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. bound — tied together
  4. mate — a partner
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. bound — certain
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. mate — a friend
  10. wake — a trail
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. sharp — clever
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — rain
  20. mate — to breed
  21. date — the fruit
  22. pound — a weight
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. bound — obliged

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