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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 · court · mark · bark · rush · nail · content · fall

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. fall — to drop
  4. date — the fruit
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. fall — to drop
  8. court — of law
  9. bark — to shout
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. fall — the season
  13. mark — a grade
  14. rush — hurry
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. content — the amount
  17. mark — a trace
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. content — happy
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. court — of a king
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. court — for sport

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