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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: march · pitcher · wind · date · stick · content · hide · stand

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. stand — to bear
  4. march — the month
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. wind — moving air
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. content — happy
  18. content — the amount
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. date — the fruit
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. stand — on your feet

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