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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: mate · cold · rest · date · bark · pit · rush · bear

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. mate — a friend
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. rest — what's left
  5. bear — the animal
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. pit — a hole
  9. bark — to shout
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mate — a partner
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. rest — what's left
  16. pit — in a race
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. date — the fruit
  22. rest — a break
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bear — the animal

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