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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: march · land · staff · pop · wound · nail · last · fan

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. march — the month
  4. staff — a stick
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. land — a country
  7. staff — employees
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. wound — an injury
  10. last — to go on
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. pop — to visit
  13. wound — an injury
  14. staff — employees
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. last — finally
  17. pop — music
  18. land — ground
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. march — the month
  21. land — to come down
  22. pop — soda
  23. march — music
  24. last — final

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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