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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 was locked up in a ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. fall — to drop
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. drill — a practice
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. drill — the tool
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. march — the month
  10. cell — a phone
  11. lean — to bend
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. drill — army training
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cell — in biology
  21. fall — the season
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. lean — thin
  24. cold — the Cold War

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