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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. roll — a list
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. fall — to drop
  6. spell — magic
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in biology
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. rock — a stone
  11. spell — letters
  12. spell — a short time
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. fall — the season
  15. roll — a cake
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. rock — music
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. fall — to drop
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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