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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: ground · stick · rush · firm · wind · spring · kid · march

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rush — hurry
  3. firm — steady
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. kid — child
  7. spring — the season
  8. firm — decided
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. spring — a coil
  14. ground — the earth
  15. march — the month
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. spring — of water
  20. kid — to tease
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — a position
  24. firm — a company

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