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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: foot · wind · mate · date · stick · march · band · content

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. mate — a friend
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. content — happy
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. march — the month
  9. wind — moving air
  10. content — the amount
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. march — music
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. march — the month
  15. date — the fruit
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a ring
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. mate — to breed
  20. wind — moving air
  21. foot — a measure
  22. band — a music group
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. mate — a partner

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