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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: bowl · tube · fall · bark · kick · lie · cell · bat

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. bat — the animal
  4. lie — to recline
  5. fall — the season
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cell — a phone
  10. tube — a container
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. tube — the underground
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cell — in biology
  16. kick — in football
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. fall — to drop
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bowl — a football final

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