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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: staff · march · ground · date · bat · bass · toast · content

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. march — music
  4. ground — a position
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. march — the month
  7. content — happy
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. ground — the earth
  10. bass — low music
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bat — the animal
  13. content — the amount
  14. staff — a stick
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — employees
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. toast — bread
  19. march — the month
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. ground — crushed
  24. date — the fruit

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