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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. net — after costs
  3. tear — to rip
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. fork — in a road
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. cue — a hint
  10. net — in sport
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cue — a signal
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — not warm
  17. spring — of water
  18. tear — from crying
  19. stand — to bear
  20. spring — the season
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. net — for catching
  23. cue — for pool
  24. spring — a coil

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