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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 · bulb · fall · bat · wind · face · dip · trunk

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. wind — moving air
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. dip — to sink
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. wind — moving air
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. bulb — for light
  13. cell — a phone
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. face — to confront
  16. bat — the animal
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. face — part of the head
  20. cell — in biology
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bulb — for light
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. face — to point toward

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