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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: plane · leaves · field · kick · fork · ball · kid · foot

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. kid — to tease
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. kick — in football
  5. ball — a dance
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. foot — a measure
  8. field — a subject
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. field — farmland
  15. kid — child
  16. plane — a tool
  17. field — for sport
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. fork — in a road
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. ball — a great time
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. ball — a round shape

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