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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: pop · face · dip · cell · cap · fall · lean · drill

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. face — part of the head
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cap — a hat
  6. fall — to drop
  7. drill — the tool
  8. drill — a practice
  9. fall — the season
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lean — thin
  12. pop — soda
  13. cell — in biology
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. lean — to bend
  16. fall — to drop
  17. pop — to visit
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. drill — army training
  21. face — to point toward
  22. pop — music
  23. dip — to sink
  24. face — to confront

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