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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: pound · chair · bore · straw · date · shower · squash · fork

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — the fruit
  4. bore — to drill
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bore — to tire
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. shower — rain
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. squash — to crush
  18. pound — a weight
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. squash — the sport
  21. chair — a leader
  22. fork — in a road
  23. shower — to wash
  24. straw — a straw man

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