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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: fork · mate · snap · date · track · hide · hand · drill

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. date — the fruit
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. snap — to click
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. mate — a partner
  8. hand — in cards
  9. track — a song
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. hand — help
  12. fork — in a road
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. drill — army training
  15. drill — a practice
  16. track — a path
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. track — to keep track
  20. mate — a friend
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. mate — to breed
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. drill — the tool

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