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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: date · cap · present · net · bat · firm · march · court

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. net — after costs
  4. march — the month
  5. cap — a hat
  6. present — there
  7. present — the time now
  8. march — music
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — the fruit
  11. cap — a lid
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. firm — a company
  14. present — a gift
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bat — the animal
  18. firm — steady
  19. court — for sport
  20. net — in sport
  21. march — the month
  22. net — for catching
  23. firm — decided
  24. court — of a king

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