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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: can · kick · mate · march · pound · lie · field · hand

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. kick — in football
  3. can — to be able to
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. mate — to breed
  6. march — the month
  7. pound — a weight
  8. mate — a partner
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. field — a subject
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. mate — a friend
  13. march — music
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. field — for sport
  16. can — a tin
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. hand — help
  19. can — a tin
  20. hand — in cards
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. lie — to recline
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. march — the month

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