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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. hand — in cards
  3. fall — to drop
  4. date — the fruit
  5. band — a music group
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. hand — help
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bore — to tire
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. fall — the season
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. band — a ring
  17. fine — high quality
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. fine — all right
  20. wound — an injury
  21. fall — to drop
  22. wound — an injury
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bore — to drill

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