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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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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: bat · band · court · bear · date · wind · bay · game

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bear — the animal
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. court — of a king
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bat — the animal
  13. band — a music group
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. band — a ring
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. game — wild animals
  18. court — of law
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. bear — the animal
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. court — for sport
  23. game — a match
  24. date — on the calendar

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