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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: date · pit · mug · bat · row · lie · bore · tear

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. mug — a cup
  3. pit — a hole
  4. mug — a face
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bore — to drill
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. tear — from crying
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. row — a line
  13. mug — to rob
  14. tear — to rip
  15. lie — to recline
  16. bore — to tire
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. pit — in a race
  20. bat — the animal
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. row — to paddle
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. date — on the calendar

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