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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: kick · fall · temple · stem · rule · cold

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  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. fall — to drop
  2. rule — a law
  3. fall — to drop
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. rule — government
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. fall — the season
  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