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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: kick · content · mine · field · perch · lash · net · squash

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. content — the amount
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. field — for sport
  7. perch — the fish
  8. squash — the sport
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. net — after costs
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. field — a subject
  13. content — happy
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. net — for catching
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. mine — for digging
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. kick — in football
  22. field — farmland
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. squash — to crush

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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