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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 116 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: hand · bowl · wound · ground · rash · chair · stand · march

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. rash — hasty
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. ground — a position
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. hand — help
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — a series
  11. wound — an injury
  12. ground — the earth
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. ground — crushed
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. chair — a leader
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stand — to bear
  24. stand — for spectators

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