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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: scale · sharp · fall · kick · hand · kid · last · stem

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. last — finally
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. scale — in music
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. hand — help
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. sharp — clever
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. hand — in cards
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. fall — to drop
  16. kid — child
  17. last — final
  18. scale — size or range
  19. last — to go on
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — to come from
  23. kid — to tease
  24. hand — part of the body

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