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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. spell — letters
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. dip — to sink
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. spell — a short time
  11. cell — a phone
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. spell — magic
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. cell — in biology
  20. stand — to bear
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. trunk — of a tree

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