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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: land · plane · cue · cell · rest · chip · tear · fall

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. rest — what's left
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. fall — the season
  5. cell — a phone
  6. fall — to drop
  7. tear — to rip
  8. cell — in biology
  9. land — a country
  10. chip — for betting
  11. cue — a hint
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. rest — what's left
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. tear — from crying
  17. chip — to eat
  18. cue — a signal
  19. tear — from crying
  20. land — ground
  21. rest — a break
  22. land — to come down
  23. plane — a tool
  24. cue — for pool

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