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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: mate · trunk · cabinet · chest · fall · march · last · pass

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. mate — a partner
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. fall — the season
  6. mate — a friend
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. last — final
  11. chest — a box
  12. pass — a permit
  13. last — to go on
  14. mate — to breed
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. chest — of your body
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. chest — of your body
  21. march — the month
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. last — finally
  24. cabinet — ministers

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