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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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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: cabinet · fall · trunk · bat · scale · bowl · cell · can

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. cell — a phone
  3. fall — to drop
  4. scale — size or range
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. can — a tin
  7. can — to be able to
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. scale — in music
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bat — the animal
  17. cell — in biology
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. fall — the season
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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