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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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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: march · fall · land · plane · last · mate · club · capital

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. club — for golf
  3. march — music
  4. mate — to breed
  5. march — the month
  6. club — a group
  7. fall — to drop
  8. club — for dancing
  9. mate — a friend
  10. land — a country
  11. mate — a partner
  12. land — ground
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. march — the month
  15. fall — to drop
  16. land — to come down
  17. last — finally
  18. capital — money
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. last — final
  21. plane — a tool
  22. capital — a city
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. last — to go on

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