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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: ground · kick · fall · dip · cell · rest · fork · tear

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. ground — a position
  3. tear — to rip
  4. fall — the season
  5. fall — to drop
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kick — in football
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. tear — from crying
  10. ground — crushed
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. ground — the earth
  13. fork — in a road
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. rest — what's left
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rest — what's left
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. cell — in biology
  20. dip — to sink
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — a phone
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. fall — to drop

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