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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. fall — the season
  4. cell — in biology
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bank — for money
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fall — to drop
  9. snap — to click
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bank — for money
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. cap — a hat
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — of ice
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bank — of a river

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