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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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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: arm · hand · fall · cell · ruler · rash · pass · last

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  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. hand — help
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. rash — a series
  7. hand — in cards
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. last — final
  11. cell — in biology
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. fall — to drop
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. pass — a permit
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. fall — the season
  19. last — finally
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. rash — hasty
  22. last — to go on
  23. pass — to spend time
  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