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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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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: wake · land · kick · kid · cell · rash · cue · field

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. field — farmland
  3. cell — a phone
  4. rash — hasty
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. field — for sport
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. cue — a hint
  10. field — a subject
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. cue — for pool
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. land — to come down
  15. kid — child
  16. land — a country
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. land — ground
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cue — a signal
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kick — in football
  24. rash — a series

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