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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. land — a country
  4. fall — to drop
  5. face — to confront
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. fall — the season
  8. current — of water
  9. pit — in a race
  10. land — ground
  11. current — happening now
  12. craft — boats
  13. face — part of the head
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. craft — a skill
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cell — in biology
  18. current — electric
  19. face — to point toward
  20. pit — a hole
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. cell — a phone

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