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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: cell · straw · present · club · dip · fall · lean · trunk

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. club — for golf
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. club — for dancing
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. fall — the season
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. dip — to sink
  11. lean — thin
  12. present — a gift
  13. club — a group
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. fall — to drop
  19. lean — to bend
  20. fall — to drop
  21. cell — in biology
  22. present — the time now
  23. cell — a phone
  24. present — there

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