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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — a phone
  6. roll — a cake
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to click
  9. pit — a hole
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. fall — the season
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. spell — a short time
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. fall — to drop
  17. game — a match
  18. roll — a list
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. pit — in a race
  22. spell — magic
  23. game — wild animals
  24. spell — letters

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