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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wind — moving air
  4. march — music
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. march — the month
  7. mate — to breed
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. mate — a partner
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. mate — a friend
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. march — the month
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pound — a weight

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