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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 116 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: pitcher · march · fall · face · mine · band · ground · straw

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. ground — the earth
  3. face — to confront
  4. march — the month
  5. mine — for digging
  6. band — a music group
  7. march — music
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. face — to point toward
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. face — part of the head
  13. fall — the season
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. band — a ring
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. fall — to drop
  19. ground — crushed
  20. fall — to drop
  21. march — the month
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. ground — a position

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