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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: arm · spring · ball · cell · fall · wake · hide · lie

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  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. ball — a great time
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. fall — to drop
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. wake — a trail
  7. lie — to recline
  8. spring — a coil
  9. cell — a phone
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. spring — of water
  12. ball — a dance
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. cell — in biology
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. fall — the season
  22. spring — the season
  23. fall — to drop
  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