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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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: kick · field · hide · spell · drill · rule

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. rule — a law
  5. field — farmland
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. drill — the tool
  8. field — for sport
  9. spell — letters
  10. kick — in football
  11. drill — a practice
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. spell — magic
  15. rule — government
  16. field — a subject
  17. spell — a short time
  18. drill — army training

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