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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. last — to go on
  3. chip — to eat
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. cell — in biology
  7. bulb — for light
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. fall — the season
  11. fall — to drop
  12. lean — to bend
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. lean — thin
  15. bulb — for light
  16. chip — for betting
  17. net — for catching
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. net — after costs
  20. mine — for digging
  21. last — final
  22. last — finally
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. net — in sport

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