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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: pitcher · march · bank · cell · track · kid · squash · foot

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. cell — a phone
  4. kid — to tease
  5. march — the month
  6. kid — child
  7. march — music
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. squash — the sport
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. track — to keep track
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. foot — a measure
  17. march — the month
  18. track — a song
  19. bank — for money
  20. bank — for money
  21. cell — in biology
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. bank — of a river
  24. squash — to crush

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