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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 · rest · staff · cell · can · bound · bowl · swing

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. swing — music
  3. can — a tin
  4. cell — a phone
  5. fall — to drop
  6. swing — to play on
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. rest — what's left
  9. staff — a stick
  10. can — to be able to
  11. bound — obliged
  12. staff — employees
  13. swing — in golf
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. staff — employees
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bound — certain
  22. fall — the season
  23. can — a tin
  24. cell — in biology

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