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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 120 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: mark · cell · craft · fall · lash · pop · hand · kick

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. fall — to drop
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. fall — to drop
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. mark — a trace
  7. cell — a phone
  8. pop — to visit
  9. pop — soda
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. fall — the season
  12. mark — a grade
  13. hand — in cards
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. hand — help
  16. pop — music
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. kick — in football
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. cell — in biology
  22. craft — a skill
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. craft — boats

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