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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cell — in biology
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. cell — a phone
  5. face — to confront
  6. pit — a hole
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. pit — in a race
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — for money
  11. bank — of a river
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. wake — a trail
  16. face — part of the head
  17. clip — to cut
  18. face — to point toward
  19. clip — for paper
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. clip — a video
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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