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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. pop — music
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pop — soda
  6. cell — in biology
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. pop — to visit
  11. stand — to bear
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — a trail
  18. cell — a phone
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. stand — for spectators

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