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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: march · deal · mine · lean · stand · chair · craft · date

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. mine — for digging
  6. lean — thin
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. craft — boats
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. chair — a leader
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. date — the fruit
  17. craft — a skill
  18. deal — to handle
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. lean — to bend
  21. stand — to bear
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. march — the month

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