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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 116 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. lean — thin
  3. cell — a phone
  4. current — electric
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. current — of water
  14. mine — for digging
  15. hand — in cards
  16. lean — to bend
  17. current — happening now
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. pitch — completely
  20. cell — in biology
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. hand — help
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. cell — in a prison

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