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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: jam · ground · march · pound · mine · branch · stand · chest

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. chest — a box
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. chest — of your body
  6. ground — the earth
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. ground — crushed
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. march — music
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. branch — a division
  15. mine — for digging
  16. ground — a position
  17. march — the month
  18. pound — a weight
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. march — the month
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. chest — of your 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