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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: trunk · fall · fine · toast · current · cell · band · kid

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. fall — to drop
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. fall — to drop
  6. toast — bread
  7. band — a music group
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. fall — the season
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. fine — all right
  14. band — a ring
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. fine — high quality
  17. cell — in biology
  18. current — electric
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. kid — to tease
  22. current — of water
  23. current — happening now
  24. cell — in a prison

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