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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: prune · fall · fan · pound · chest · stand · date · march

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. march — the month
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. pound — a weight
  9. fall — the season
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. chest — a box
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. stand — to bear
  16. prune — to trim
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. march — the month
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — the fruit
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. prune — to trim
  23. march — music
  24. chest — of your body

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