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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: band · ground · jam · pitcher · cold · wake · kid · row

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. row — to paddle
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. row — a line
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. band — a music group
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. wake — a trail
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. ground — the earth
  15. cold — an illness
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. ground — crushed
  18. band — a ring
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — to tease
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wake — before a funeral

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