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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: nail · stand · ground · wave · hand · staff · pitcher · march

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. march — music
  3. ground — crushed
  4. staff — employees
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. hand — in cards
  12. ground — the earth
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. march — the month
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. stand — to bear
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. staff — employees
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. staff — a stick
  22. ground — a position
  23. march — the month
  24. wave — with your hand

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