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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: bay · mine · content · mate · bat · mark · date · press

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. press — to push
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. mine — for digging
  6. content — happy
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. content — the amount
  10. mark — a trace
  11. date — the fruit
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. mark — a grade
  15. press — newspapers
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. press — a publisher
  19. mate — to breed
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. mate — a friend
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. mate — a partner

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