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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hide · row · cold · toast · date · rush

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. cold — not warm
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. date — the fruit
  7. toast — bread
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. row — to paddle
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — an illness
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. rush — hurry
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. row — a quarrel

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