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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 · toast · object · fall · bore · row · wound · date

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. shower — to wash
  4. bore — to tire
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. toast — bread
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. row — to paddle
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. fall — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. object — a thing
  18. bore — to drill
  19. row — a line
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. object — an aim
  22. object — to protest
  23. fall — to drop
  24. shower — rain

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