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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: band · court · ground · mate · date · last · object · rest

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. rest — what's left
  3. ground — crushed
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mate — a friend
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. object — to protest
  8. object — a thing
  9. last — finally
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — a position
  12. court — of a king
  13. mate — to breed
  14. rest — what's left
  15. last — final
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. court — of law
  18. rest — a break
  19. court — for sport
  20. last — to go on
  21. band — a music group
  22. date — the fruit
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. object — an aim

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