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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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468
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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  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. bowl — a dish
  2. fall — to drop
  3. chest — of your body
  4. swing — music
  5. chest — of your body
  6. roll — a list
  7. cell — in biology
  8. fall — to drop
  9. swing — in golf
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. file — a document
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. file — a tool
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. chest — a box
  18. roll — a cake
  19. swing — to play on
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. fall — the season
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bowl — a football final
  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