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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. chest — of your body
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bat — the animal
  8. chest — a box
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bound — certain
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. bound — obliged
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. fall — to drop
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bound — tied together
  24. cold — an illness

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