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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 · nail · wind · bat · cell · cabinet · toast · trunk

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. toast — bread
  11. fall — to drop
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. fall — to drop
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. fall — the season
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — in an idiom

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