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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. fall — to drop
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. hand — in cards
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pitch — completely
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. cell — in biology
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. fall — the season
  17. sharp — clever
  18. fall — to drop
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. cell — a phone
  22. snap — to click
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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