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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: net · march · degree · lean · fall · stand · date · row

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. march — music
  3. lean — thin
  4. net — for catching
  5. degree — temperature
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. row — a line
  8. net — after costs
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. fall — the season
  11. march — the month
  12. fall — to drop
  13. stand — to bear
  14. march — the month
  15. lean — to bend
  16. degree — an amount
  17. row — to paddle
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. degree — from a university
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. fall — to drop
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. date — the fruit
  24. net — in sport

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