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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: lean · ball · date · march · rest · bass

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. ball — a dance
  3. march — the month
  4. bass — low music
  5. rest — a break
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. march — the month
  8. ball — a great time
  9. lean — thin
  10. rest — what's left
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. bass — the fish
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. date — the fruit
  17. rest — what's left
  18. march — music

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