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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 · track · kid · wound · racket · pitcher · saw · march

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. march — the month
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. track — a song
  10. track — to keep track
  11. saw — the tool
  12. march — music
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. march — the month
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. kid — child
  20. saw — the tool
  21. track — a path
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — to tease

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