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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: content · last · ground · date · bat · hide · mate · hand

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. ground — the earth
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. mate — a partner
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. mate — to breed
  7. ground — a position
  8. date — the fruit
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — help
  11. last — to go on
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. mate — a friend
  15. last — final
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. last — finally
  18. content — the amount
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. content — happy
  23. bat — the animal
  24. ground — crushed

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