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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 116 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 · cold · fork · fall · cell · stick

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cold — an illness
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. cell — in biology
  11. fork — in a road
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. cold — not warm
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cell — a phone
  18. stick — a piece of wood

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