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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 120 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: bowl · rule · ground · pound · cell · kick

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. pound — a weight
  3. rule — government
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rule — a law
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. cell — a phone
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. ground — the earth
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. ground — a position
  18. kick — in football

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