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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 · kid · row · ball · snap · mug · foot · march

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. mug — to rob
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. mug — a cup
  11. ground — a position
  12. row — to paddle
  13. ball — a great time
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. mug — a face
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — the earth
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. foot — a measure
  20. row — a line
  21. march — the month
  22. snap — to click
  23. ball — a dance
  24. march — music

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