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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fork — in a road
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. tear — from crying
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. kid — to tease
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. kid — child
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. tear — to rip
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — for digging

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