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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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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: mate · march · fall · bulb · snap · land · racket · rest

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — a friend
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. rest — what's left
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. march — the month
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — a country
  15. rest — what's left
  16. snap — to click
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bulb — for light
  19. mate — to breed
  20. land — ground
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. rest — a break
  23. fall — the season
  24. bulb — for light

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