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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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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 · safe · club · lie · stick · net · cell · straw

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. fall — to drop
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. cell — a phone
  8. fall — the season
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. club — for dancing
  13. net — after costs
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. club — for golf
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. club — a group
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. net — in sport
  23. cell — in biology
  24. lie — to recline

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