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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: straw · hide · content · march · bulb · clip · stand · date

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. march — the month
  4. content — the amount
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. march — the month
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bulb — for light
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. clip — a video
  11. date — the fruit
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bulb — for light
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — to cut
  17. stand — to bear
  18. march — music
  19. content — happy
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. date — on the calendar

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