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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. cell — a phone
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. vault — a safe
  6. firm — a company
  7. firm — decided
  8. mine — for digging
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cell — in biology
  11. land — ground
  12. firm — steady
  13. prune — to trim
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. wake — a trail
  19. fall — the season
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. land — to come down
  22. prune — to trim
  23. land — a country
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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