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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rest — a break
  3. last — final
  4. last — to go on
  5. fall — to drop
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. bat — the animal
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. fall — the season
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. rest — what's left
  12. fall — to drop
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. last — finally
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in biology
  23. rest — what's left
  24. mouse — the animal

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