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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. kid — child
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. march — the month
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. tube — the underground
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. kid — to tease
  13. march — the month
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bank — for money
  18. stand — to bear
  19. bank — for money
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. tube — a container
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. bank — of a river
  24. safe — out of danger

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