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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. fall — to drop
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. rest — what's left
  8. fall — the season
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. rest — what's left
  12. march — the month
  13. land — a country
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. land — ground
  17. land — to come down
  18. file — a document
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. stand — to bear
  23. pitch — completely
  24. fall — to drop

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