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

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. fall — the season
  3. cell — a phone
  4. fall — to drop
  5. lie — to recline
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. net — in sport
  8. mug — a cup
  9. key — in music
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. key — for a lock
  12. net — for catching
  13. key — the most important part
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. cell — in biology
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mug — to rob
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. net — after costs
  21. mug — a face
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. chair — a leader
  24. lie — an untruth

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