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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. spell — letters
  6. fall — the season
  7. snap — to click
  8. spell — a short time
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pit — in a race
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. spell — magic
  14. roll — a list
  15. pit — a hole
  16. roll — a cake
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. roll — on a roll

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