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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. fall — the season
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. fall — to drop
  6. game — wild animals
  7. snap — to click
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — a phone
  14. game — a match
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. fall — to drop
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. trunk — of an elephant

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