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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: kid · march · bay · stick · season · content · bank · last

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. bank — for money
  3. march — the month
  4. bank — of a river
  5. last — finally
  6. season — in sport
  7. last — final
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. content — happy
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. season — of the year
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. march — music
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. last — to go on
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. kid — child
  20. march — the month
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bank — for money
  24. content — the amount

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