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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: bark · land · bat · root · rash · sharp · date · mate

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. sharp — clever
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. mate — to breed
  7. mate — a friend
  8. land — a country
  9. rash — a series
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bark — to shout
  13. root — of a plant
  14. bat — the animal
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. root — the cause
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. rash — hasty
  20. root — of a word
  21. land — ground
  22. land — to come down
  23. mate — a partner
  24. rash — on the skin

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