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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.

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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: net · calf · cap · racket · cell · can · field · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. cap — a hat
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. net — for catching
  6. can — to be able to
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. cap — a lid
  9. can — a tin
  10. net — after costs
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cap — of ice
  14. field — farmland
  15. kid — child
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. field — a subject
  19. net — in sport
  20. field — for sport
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. can — a tin

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