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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: land · kick · tear · hand · fork · rule · cell · wax

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. hand — help
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. land — ground
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. rule — government
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. rule — a law
  10. fork — in a road
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. land — to come down
  14. kick — in football
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. tear — from crying
  17. hand — in cards
  18. tear — from crying
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. cell — a phone
  21. land — a country
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. tear — to rip
  24. wax — to grow

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