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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: cabinet · drill · stand · rash · spring · date · pit · mark

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. rash — hasty
  6. pit — a hole
  7. drill — a practice
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. mark — a trace
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. pit — in a race
  14. drill — the tool
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. spring — of water
  18. rash — a series
  19. date — the fruit
  20. spring — the season
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. drill — army training
  23. stand — to bear
  24. mark — a grade

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