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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 · craft · cell · ground · row · suit · saw · fall

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. ground — a position
  3. saw — the tool
  4. fall — the season
  5. fall — to drop
  6. craft — boats
  7. suit — clothes
  8. ground — the earth
  9. hand — in cards
  10. suit — to fit
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. hand — help
  13. ground — crushed
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. row — to paddle
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. saw — the tool
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. row — a line
  22. craft — a skill
  23. suit — in cards
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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