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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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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 · bore · cell · mine · leaves · temple · fall · straw

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. fall — the season
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bore — to tire
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bore — to drill
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. fall — to drop
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cell — in biology
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. bat — the animal
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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