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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: ground · fall · hand · cell · mark · row · pound · staff

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. fall — to drop
  4. staff — a stick
  5. pound — a weight
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mark — a trace
  8. ground — a position
  9. cell — a phone
  10. hand — in cards
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. ground — crushed
  15. row — to paddle
  16. hand — help
  17. row — a line
  18. cell — in biology
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. ground — the earth
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. staff — employees

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