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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — the season
  3. land — to come down
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. race — the arms race
  6. fall — to drop
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. scale — size or range
  10. land — ground
  11. pit — in a race
  12. spell — a short time
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. race — humankind
  15. wake — a trail
  16. spell — magic
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. scale — in music
  19. race — a contest
  20. land — a country
  21. spell — letters
  22. pit — a hole
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. trunk — of a car

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