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

Word bank: rule · bark · row · cold · date · craft · mate · wound

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. mate — to breed
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. row — to paddle
  6. craft — a skill
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. cold — not warm
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. craft — boats
  13. mate — a friend
  14. bark — to shout
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. rule — a law
  17. mate — a partner
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. wound — an injury
  20. rule — government
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. row — a line

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