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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. fall — the season
  3. cell — a phone
  4. shower — to wash
  5. prune — to trim
  6. swing — to play on
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. fall — to drop
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. pitch — completely
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. land — a country
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. land — to come down
  16. fall — to drop
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. shower — rain
  21. swing — music
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. land — ground
  24. swing — in golf

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