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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: pit · pass · land · march · season · fan · fall · last

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. land — to come down
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. fall — to drop
  5. last — finally
  6. land — ground
  7. season — of the year
  8. pit — in a race
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. march — music
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. last — to go on
  14. pass — a permit
  15. march — the month
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. fall — the season
  19. last — final
  20. season — in sport
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. land — a country
  24. march — the month

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