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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. last — finally
  5. last — to go on
  6. bore — to tire
  7. last — final
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. date — the fruit
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. stock — shares
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. stock — goods
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. mark — a grade
  17. bore — to drill
  18. shower — rain
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. bark — to shout
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mine — for digging
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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