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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: kick · last · field · foot · season · mate · charge · hand

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. charge — in control
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — a partner
  8. field — for sport
  9. mate — to breed
  10. last — finally
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. foot — a measure
  13. field — a subject
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — final
  16. hand — help
  17. field — farmland
  18. hand — in cards
  19. kick — in football
  20. charge — a price
  21. season — in sport
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. season — of the year
  24. foot — part of the body

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