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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: staff · march · rush · capital · ground · stem · wound · pitcher

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. capital — money
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. rush — hurry
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — a position
  11. wound — an injury
  12. staff — employees
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. staff — employees
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. capital — a city
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. march — the month
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. ground — crushed
  24. staff — a stick

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