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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · squash · spring · mate · mine · bark · pitch · board

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. spring — a coil
  3. pitch — completely
  4. mine — for digging
  5. spring — of water
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. bark — to shout
  9. spring — the season
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. mate — a partner
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. board — to get on
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — to crush
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. date — the fruit
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. board — a committee
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. mate — a friend
  24. mate — to breed

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