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

Word bank: rest · pass · fall · land · chest · march · club · racket

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. club — for golf
  3. land — to come down
  4. chest — of your body
  5. club — a group
  6. chest — a box
  7. pass — a permit
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. fall — to drop
  11. club — for dancing
  12. land — ground
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. march — music
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. rest — what's left
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. land — a country
  20. march — the month
  21. fall — to drop
  22. march — the month
  23. fall — the season
  24. rest — what's left

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