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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: hide · fork · nail · shower · last · temple · date · row

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. last — to go on
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. row — a line
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. shower — to wash
  13. fork — in a road
  14. last — finally
  15. row — to paddle
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. shower — rain
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. last — final
  21. date — the fruit
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. fork — to eat with

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