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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: nail · staff · wound · pound · kick · pitch · mine · march

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  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. kick — a thrill
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. march — the month
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — a stick
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. pound — a weight
  11. march — music
  12. mine — for digging
  13. staff — employees
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. march — the month
  21. pitch — completely
  22. kick — in football
  23. nail — on a finger
  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