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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: march · wind · chest · mate · pitcher · pound · racket · foot

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

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. chest — of your body
  6. foot — a measure
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. mate — a partner
  10. march — the month
  11. pound — a weight
  12. wind — moving air
  13. march — music
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. mate — a friend
  20. mate — to breed
  21. march — the month
  22. chest — a box
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. foot — part of the body

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