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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: mate · pop · land · rush · leaves · march · snap · chair

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. march — the month
  3. land — a country
  4. march — music
  5. snap — to click
  6. rush — hurry
  7. pop — to visit
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. march — the month
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. mate — to breed
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. pop — soda
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. mate — a friend
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. mate — a partner
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. pop — music
  22. chair — a leader
  23. land — to come down
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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