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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: vault · cell · fall · kick · dip · squash

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. fall — the season
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. dip — to sink
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. squash — to crush
  9. cell — a phone
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. fall — to drop
  12. squash — the sport
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. cell — in biology
  17. vault — a safe
  18. dip — to dunk

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