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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: stick · cell · rash · fall · land · march · track · court

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. court — of a king
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. fall — the season
  7. fall — to drop
  8. court — for sport
  9. fall — to drop
  10. track — a path
  11. track — a song
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. track — to keep track
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cell — a phone
  16. land — ground
  17. rash — a series
  18. court — of law
  19. rash — hasty
  20. land — a country
  21. land — to come down
  22. cell — in biology
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. march — the month

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