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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 · patient · wake · pitcher · stick · ground · march · kick

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  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. stick — a piece of wood
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. ground — a position
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wake — a trail
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. ground — the earth
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. march — the month
  21. ground — crushed
  22. march — the month
  23. kick — in football
  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