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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: rash · field · straw · kick · hide · root · mark · ball

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — for sport
  4. rash — a series
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — hasty
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. root — of a plant
  14. mark — a trace
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. root — of a word
  20. root — the cause
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. ball — a great time
  23. field — a subject
  24. kick — in football

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