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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: racket · content · field · bat · leaves · lash · game · kick

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. bat — the animal
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — for sport
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. kick — in football
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. content — happy
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. field — farmland
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. game — wild animals
  24. content — the amount

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