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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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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: kick · ground · plane · bowl · fall · branch · pitcher · cell

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. fall — to drop
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. plane — a tool
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. fall — to drop
  11. branch — a division
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. ground — a position
  14. ground — the earth
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. cell — a phone
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. kick — in football
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. fall — the season
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. ground — crushed
  24. cell — in biology

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