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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: lie · land · bark · shower · wake · dip · season · date

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. land — to come down
  5. lie — to recline
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. season — in sport
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. land — ground
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. land — a country
  14. bark — to shout
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. shower — to wash
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. shower — rain
  20. wake — a trail
  21. season — of the year
  22. dip — to sink
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. date — the fruit

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