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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 · pitcher · file · wind · mark · pop · tear · fine

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pop — music
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pop — to visit
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. tear — from crying
  10. file — a document
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. fine — high quality
  13. tear — from crying
  14. date — the fruit
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. mark — a trace
  18. fine — all right
  19. file — a line of people
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. file — a tool
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pop — soda

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