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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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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: hand · kick · ground · fall · craft · staff · content · cap

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. cap — a hat
  4. hand — in cards
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — crushed
  7. cap — a lid
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. craft — a skill
  11. ground — a position
  12. hand — help
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. staff — employees
  15. fall — the season
  16. content — the amount
  17. fall — to drop
  18. cap — of ice
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — a stick
  21. craft — boats
  22. kick — in football
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. content — happy

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