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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: date · land · cue · mate · perch · wind · chest · mark

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. date — the fruit
  3. mate — a partner
  4. chest — of your body
  5. land — to come down
  6. wind — moving air
  7. land — a country
  8. chest — of your body
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. mate — to breed
  12. cue — a signal
  13. chest — a box
  14. mark — a grade
  15. cue — for pool
  16. land — ground
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mate — a friend
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. perch — the fish
  22. mark — a trace
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. cue — a hint

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