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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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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: arm · pitcher · track · kid · stem · march · wind · drill

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. drill — the tool
  3. drill — a practice
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. kid — child
  6. march — the month
  7. track — a path
  8. march — the month
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. wind — moving air
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. drill — army training
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. march — music
  16. wind — moving air
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. kid — to tease
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. track — to keep track
  23. track — a song
  24. pitcher — a jug

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