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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: ground · kick · fall · dip · cell · rest

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. ground — the earth
  7. kick — in football
  8. rest — what's left
  9. ground — crushed
  10. cell — in biology
  11. rest — what's left
  12. ground — a position
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — to drop
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. dip — to sink
  17. cell — a phone
  18. fall — the season

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