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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: pitcher · date · march · ground · bat · dip · straw · key

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. key — the most important part
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. march — the month
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. key — in music
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. ground — the earth
  16. dip — to sink
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. ground — crushed
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. ground — a position
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. date — the fruit
  23. key — for a lock
  24. dip — to dunk

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