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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. pit — in a race
  3. present — there
  4. present — a gift
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. row — a line
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. cell — in biology
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. foot — a measure
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. snap — to click
  21. present — the time now
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. pit — a hole

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