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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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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: leaves · deal · cell · court · cap · clip · kick · fall

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cap — of ice
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. cell — in biology
  8. fall — to drop
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. court — of law
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. cap — a hat
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. kick — in football
  16. court — of a king
  17. fall — the season
  18. deal — to handle
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. fall — to drop
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. clip — a video
  24. court — for sport

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