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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 120 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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. club — for dancing
  6. spring — a coil
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. charge — in control
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. club — a group
  13. charge — a price
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. fall — the season
  16. spring — of water
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. spring — the season
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. club — for golf
  21. snap — to click
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. charge — electricity

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