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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: club · date · bore · row · face · pitcher · temple · shower

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bore — to tire
  5. club — for golf
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. face — to point toward
  8. row — to paddle
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bore — to drill
  11. shower — rain
  12. date — the fruit
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. face — to confront
  18. club — a group
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. face — part of the head
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. row — a line
  23. shower — to wash
  24. club — for dancing

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