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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: pass · fall · rush · chest · wax · bat · kick · march

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. kick — in football
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bat — the animal
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. rush — hurry
  12. pass — a permit
  13. march — music
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. fall — to drop
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. wax — to grow
  20. fall — the season
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. chest — of your body

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