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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: field · lean · kick · fan · mine · stick · season · wind

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. wind — moving air
  4. field — for sport
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. mine — for digging
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. field — farmland
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. wind — moving air
  14. season — in sport
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. lean — to bend
  17. field — a subject
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. kick — in football
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. season — of the year
  24. fan — a supporter

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