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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 · foot · tear · date · band · toast · ground · net

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. net — in sport
  4. march — the month
  5. toast — bread
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. band — a music group
  8. net — after costs
  9. tear — to rip
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. march — music
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. net — for catching
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. date — the fruit
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — a position
  19. tear — from crying
  20. march — the month
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. foot — a measure
  23. tear — from crying
  24. ground — crushed

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