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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: lean · ball · wound · stand · march · kick · sharp · band

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. march — music
  5. ball — a great time
  6. wound — an injury
  7. band — a music group
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. march — the month
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. ball — a dance
  12. march — the month
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. kick — in football
  15. lean — thin
  16. stand — to bear
  17. band — a ring
  18. wound — an injury
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. sharp — clever
  22. lean — to bend
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. stand — for spectators

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