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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. fall — to drop
  6. net — after costs
  7. net — for catching
  8. cell — a phone
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. net — in sport
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. cell — in biology
  15. pit — a hole
  16. pit — in a race
  17. snap — to click
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. fall — to drop
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. fall — the season
  24. bat — the animal

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