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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: ground · plane · wind · march · date · pitcher · current · straw

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. wind — moving air
  3. current — of water
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. march — the month
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. current — happening now
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. date — the fruit
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. plane — a tool
  13. ground — crushed
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. march — music
  17. current — electric
  18. march — the month
  19. wind — moving air
  20. ground — a position
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. ground — the earth
  23. date — on the calendar
  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