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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 · fall · dip · rock · kid · cell · fan · row

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. mark — a trace
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. mark — a grade
  5. rock — music
  6. fall — to drop
  7. dip — to sink
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — to tease
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. fall — to drop
  12. cell — in biology
  13. row — a line
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cell — a phone
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. fall — the season
  21. rock — a stone
  22. kid — child
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. row — to paddle

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