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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. pit — a hole
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — what's left
  7. hand — help
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. rest — a break
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. kid — child
  12. scale — size or range
  13. hand — in cards
  14. kid — to tease
  15. pit — in a race
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. fall — to drop
  18. scale — in music
  19. fall — to drop
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fall — the season

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