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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: fork · date · pass · wave · tear · row · kid · ball

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. kid — child
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. ball — a great time
  14. ball — a dance
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. pass — a permit
  17. row — a line
  18. fork — in a road
  19. kid — to tease
  20. date — the fruit
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. tear — to rip
  24. row — to paddle

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