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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: kid · board · wound · chest · shower · mark · pop · date

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. pop — soda
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. chest — of your body
  5. shower — to wash
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. chest — a box
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — to visit
  11. kid — child
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. mark — a grade
  15. mark — a trace
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. chest — of your body
  18. board — a committee
  19. board — to get on
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. shower — rain
  24. kid — to tease

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