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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 116 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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. cell — a phone
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. cell — in biology
  6. fall — the season
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. rash — a series
  10. ball — a dance
  11. lean — to bend
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — hasty
  14. march — music
  15. lean — thin
  16. march — the month
  17. fall — to drop
  18. snap — to click
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. fall — to drop
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. march — the month

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