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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: date · rest · clip · track · temple · shower · bowl · squash

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. track — to keep track
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. shower — to wash
  5. track — a path
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. shower — rain
  12. rest — a break
  13. squash — the sport
  14. clip — a video
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. track — a song
  17. squash — to crush
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. rest — what's left
  21. clip — for paper
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. date — the fruit
  24. temple — side of the head

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