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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: plane · wake · wave · kick · cell · field

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. wake — a trail
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. field — for sport
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. plane — a tool
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. cell — in biology
  14. field — farmland
  15. field — a subject
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. kick — in football
  18. kick — with a leg

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