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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: can · press · chip · cell · fall · land · hand · kick

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. fall — to drop
  3. hand — help
  4. land — to come down
  5. cell — a phone
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. land — ground
  8. chip — for betting
  9. land — a country
  10. fall — the season
  11. fall — to drop
  12. can — a tin
  13. press — newspapers
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. can — to be able to
  16. can — a tin
  17. press — to push
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. hand — in cards
  20. chip — to eat
  21. press — a publisher
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cell — in biology
  24. kick — in football

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