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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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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: cell · wind · fall · cold · craft · firm · scale · trunk

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. wind — moving air
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. cold — not warm
  5. craft — a skill
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. firm — steady
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — size or range
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. firm — a company
  17. craft — boats
  18. firm — decided
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. cell — in biology
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cold — an illness
  24. wind — to turn a key

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