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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fall · mug · lean · leaves · hand · band · snap · trunk

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. fall — to drop
  5. hand — help
  6. mug — to rob
  7. band — a ring
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. hand — in cards
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. mug — a cup
  14. lean — to bend
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. mug — a face
  17. snap — to click
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. fall — the season
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. band — a music group

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