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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. lie — to recline
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cell — in biology
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cold — an illness
  10. drill — army training
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. cell — a phone
  15. fall — to drop
  16. mug — a face
  17. drill — a practice
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. mug — to rob
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. fall — the season
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. drill — the tool

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