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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: date · mate · wind · mine · present · squash · pound · rush

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. mate — a partner
  4. date — the fruit
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. present — the time now
  9. wind — moving air
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. squash — to crush
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. rush — hurry
  14. pound — a weight
  15. present — there
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. squash — the sport
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mate — a friend
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. present — a gift
  24. wind — moving air

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