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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. roll — a cake
  4. fall — the season
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. season — of the year
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. file — a line of people
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. rest — what's left
  11. degree — from a university
  12. cell — a phone
  13. file — a tool
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. file — a document
  16. roll — a list
  17. rest — what's left
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. rest — a break
  20. cell — in biology
  21. season — in sport
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — an amount
  24. fall — to drop

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