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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: bat · fall · cell · spring · fan · snap · trunk · plane

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. snap — to click
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. spring — a coil
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. fall — the season
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. cell — a phone
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. spring — of water
  17. plane — a tool
  18. cell — in biology
  19. spring — the season
  20. bat — the animal
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. bat — in an idiom

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