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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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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 · kid · cell · track · calf · pound

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pound — a weight
  3. fall — to drop
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. track — a path
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — to tease
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. cell — in biology
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. fall — the season
  14. cell — a phone
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. track — a song
  18. track — to keep track

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