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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: pop · roll · mine · present · stand · toast · march · pitcher

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. mine — for digging
  4. present — a gift
  5. march — the month
  6. pop — music
  7. roll — a cake
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pop — soda
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. march — music
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. march — the month
  16. roll — a list
  17. present — there
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. pop — to visit
  20. toast — bread
  21. present — the time now
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. stand — to bear

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