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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: march · mark · chest · stand · lean · chair · mine · fall

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. lean — thin
  4. mine — for digging
  5. lean — to bend
  6. fall — the season
  7. chest — of your body
  8. fall — to drop
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. fall — to drop
  11. chair — a leader
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. mark — a trace
  19. stand — to bear
  20. chest — of your body
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. chest — a box
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mark — a grade

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