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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: cold · plane · kick · cell · branch · march · ball · field

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. ball — a dance
  6. cold — an illness
  7. kick — in football
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — for sport
  12. ball — a great time
  13. field — farmland
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. march — music
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. cell — a phone
  20. plane — a tool
  21. branch — a division
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cold — not warm
  24. kick — a thrill

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