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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: march · plane · bat · stick · date · ground · wake · rock

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. rock — music
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. rock — a stone
  5. wake — a trail
  6. march — music
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. ground — crushed
  9. date — the fruit
  10. ground — the earth
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. plane — a tool
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. ground — a position

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