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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 · land · wind · pass · stand · foot · rash · ball

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. pass — a permit
  3. land — a country
  4. march — the month
  5. ball — a great time
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. land — to come down
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. foot — a measure
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. stand — to bear
  16. ball — a dance
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rash — hasty
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. rash — a series
  23. land — ground
  24. foot — the bottom

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