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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: shower · rest · mug · dip · tear · mate · hand · date

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. hand — help
  3. mug — to rob
  4. tear — from crying
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — the fruit
  8. hand — in cards
  9. mug — a face
  10. mate — to breed
  11. shower — to wash
  12. rest — what's left
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. mug — a cup
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. rest — what's left
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. shower — rain
  22. rest — a break
  23. mate — a partner
  24. mate — a friend

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