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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 120 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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. snap — to click
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. cell — a phone
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. cell — in biology
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. wind — moving air
  10. root — of a word
  11. root — the cause
  12. wind — moving air
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. file — a line of people
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. file — a tool
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. root — of a plant
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. file — a document
  23. tube — a container
  24. leaves — of a tree

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