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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: straw · lie · march · nail · row · club · ground · stock

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. march — the month
  3. ground — the earth
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. ground — crushed
  6. stock — shares
  7. row — a line
  8. ground — a position
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. club — for golf
  12. lie — to recline
  13. club — for dancing
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. stock — goods
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a quarrel

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