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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: stand · pitcher · jam · row · drill · mate · pop · wound

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. stand — to bear
  3. mate — a friend
  4. wound — an injury
  5. row — a line
  6. mate — a partner
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wound — an injury
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. pop — soda
  12. pop — to visit
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — a practice
  15. row — to paddle
  16. mate — to breed
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. pop — music
  19. drill — army training
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. jam — a tight spot

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