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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: pound · suit · coach · race · shower · bat · hand · march

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. suit — in cards
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. shower — rain
  7. bat — the animal
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. march — the month
  10. race — a contest
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. race — the arms race
  13. march — the month
  14. pound — a weight
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. shower — to wash
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. race — humankind
  20. suit — to fit
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — in cards
  23. suit — clothes
  24. pound — for dogs

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