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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 · chair · snap · craft · cue · cell · hide · row

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. cue — a signal
  4. fall — the season
  5. cue — a hint
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. snap — to click
  9. row — a line
  10. craft — boats
  11. row — to paddle
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. chair — a leader
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. craft — a skill
  20. fall — to drop
  21. cell — in biology
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cue — for pool

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