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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: stand · bat · march · snap · capital · cue · date · bay

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. cue — a signal
  4. march — music
  5. cue — a hint
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. bat — the animal
  8. date — the fruit
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. march — the month
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. capital — money
  14. stand — to bear
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. march — the month
  17. snap — to click
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. capital — a city
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. cue — for pool

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