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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. band — a ring
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. rush — hurry
  5. face — part of the head
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cell — in biology
  8. face — to point toward
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. fall — to drop
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. fall — the season
  13. band — a music group
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. cell — a phone
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. fall — to drop
  18. lie — to recline
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. face — to confront
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. snap — to click

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