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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 120 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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cue — a hint
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. mark — a trace
  8. fall — the season
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. root — of a word
  11. cell — a phone
  12. mark — a grade
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. root — of a plant
  15. land — to come down
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cue — a signal
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. root — the cause
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. land — ground
  22. land — a country
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. mark — to pay attention

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