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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: field · mark · kick · net · face · cue

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. field — farmland
  3. face — to point toward
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. field — a subject
  6. net — after costs
  7. mark — a grade
  8. cue — a signal
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — for catching
  11. mark — a trace
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. face — to confront
  14. cue — for pool
  15. face — part of the head
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. kick — in football
  18. field — 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