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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 120 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: straw · trunk · charge · cell · fall · lean · spring · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. fall — to drop
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. spring — the season
  6. charge — electricity
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. spring — a coil
  9. cell — a phone
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. fall — to drop
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. lean — to bend
  14. spring — of water
  15. cell — in biology
  16. fall — the season
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. charge — a price
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. lean — thin
  24. charge — in control

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