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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: date · leaves · bat · wave · present · ground · march · straw

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. date — the fruit
  3. present — there
  4. bat — the animal
  5. march — the month
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. ground — a position
  11. march — the month
  12. ground — crushed
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. ground — the earth
  23. present — a gift
  24. march — music

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