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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: lash · pitcher · content · wound · cap · march · shower · stand

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. shower — to wash
  3. march — the month
  4. wound — an injury
  5. content — the amount
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. shower — rain
  8. march — the month
  9. wound — an injury
  10. stand — to bear
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. march — music
  14. cap — a hat
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. cap — of ice
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. cap — a lid
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. pitcher — a jug

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