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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: ruler · rash · cold · kick · bat · dip · fall · bound

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. fall — to drop
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. bound — obliged
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. bound — tied together
  8. dip — to sink
  9. bound — certain
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. cold — not warm
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rash — a series
  20. fall — the season
  21. kick — in football
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — the animal

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