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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: fall · rule · kick · row · pop · chest

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  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. rule — government
  2. pop — to visit
  3. rule — a law
  4. chest — of your body
  5. row — to paddle
  6. pop — soda
  7. chest — a box
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. chest — of your body
  10. fall — to drop
  11. row — a line
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — the season
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. pop — music
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kick — with a leg
  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