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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: mark · cold · date · rule · fork · pop · dip · bay

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. cold — an illness
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. pop — soda
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. mark — a trace
  11. mark — a grade
  12. dip — to sink
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — in a road
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. date — the fruit
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. pop — music
  21. rule — a law
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. rule — government
  24. rule — to rule out

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