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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. fall — the season
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. last — finally
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. cell — a phone
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. last — final
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bulb — for light
  15. spring — a coil
  16. snap — to click
  17. bulb — for light
  18. spring — of water
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a line
  21. spring — the season
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. last — to go on

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