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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: wound · fall · club · cold · bass · march · pass · mark

  1. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to spend time
  2. club — for golf
  3. march — music
  4. fall — to drop
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bass — the fish
  8. mark — a grade
  9. bass — low music
  10. march — the month
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. march — the month
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pass — a permit
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. cold — an illness
  21. fall — the season
  22. mark — a trace
  23. club — a group
  24. club — for dancing

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