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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: swing · march · pound · nail · leaves · pitcher · rash · stem

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. stem — to come from
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. swing — to play on
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pound — a weight
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. march — music
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. swing — music
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. march — the month
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. swing — in golf
  23. march — the month
  24. rash — a series

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