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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: mine · date · roll · mouse · fork · present · bound · land

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. land — to come down
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. bound — tied together
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. roll — a list
  14. bound — obliged
  15. roll — a cake
  16. present — a gift
  17. fork — in a road
  18. present — there
  19. bound — certain
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. date — the fruit
  22. present — the time now
  23. land — a country
  24. land — ground

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