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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: wound · clip · last · spell · date · mine · shower · temple

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. date — the fruit
  3. last — finally
  4. spell — magic
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. last — to go on
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — rain
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. clip — a video
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. clip — to cut
  14. spell — letters
  15. mine — for digging
  16. spell — a short time
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. clip — for paper
  20. shower — to wash
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. last — final

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