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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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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: toast · kick · cell · rest · chair · fall · land · pitcher

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. land — to come down
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. rest — what's left
  7. toast — bread
  8. rest — a break
  9. fall — the season
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. chair — a leader
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. rest — what's left
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. land — a country
  16. cell — in biology
  17. land — ground
  18. fall — to drop
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. kick — in football
  24. cell — a phone

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