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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: shower · rush · pit · march · bore · date · land · track

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. bore — to tire
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. rush — hurry
  5. pit — a hole
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. track — a song
  9. march — the month
  10. land — a country
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. land — to come down
  13. march — the month
  14. track — a path
  15. track — to keep track
  16. shower — rain
  17. bore — to drill
  18. land — ground
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. date — the fruit
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. pit — in a race
  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