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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: chair · lean · wake · fall · dip · race · cell · mouse

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. lean — thin
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. cell — in biology
  5. chair — a leader
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. race — a contest
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. fall — to drop
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. race — the arms race
  17. lean — to bend
  18. race — humankind
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. dip — to sink
  21. cell — a phone
  22. fall — the season
  23. wake — a trail
  24. mouse — the animal

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