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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. mark — a trace
  3. net — in sport
  4. field — for sport
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. mark — a grade
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. file — a tool
  10. net — for catching
  11. tube — a container
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. object — a thing
  14. file — a line of people
  15. object — to protest
  16. file — a document
  17. kick — in football
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. fork — in a road
  20. field — a subject
  21. tube — the underground
  22. object — an aim
  23. net — after costs
  24. field — farmland

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