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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. race — a contest
  3. content — the amount
  4. race — humankind
  5. cell — a phone
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. lean — to bend
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. fall — to drop
  11. content — happy
  12. lean — thin
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. cell — in biology
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. race — the arms race
  18. fall — to drop
  19. stand — to bear
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. shower — to wash
  24. fall — the season

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