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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: charge · kick · sharp · net · lean · kid · field · pop

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. sharp — clever
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. field — a subject
  8. kid — child
  9. field — farmland
  10. kick — in football
  11. field — for sport
  12. net — after costs
  13. pop — to visit
  14. charge — a price
  15. lean — to bend
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — in sport
  20. charge — in control
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. lean — thin
  23. charge — electricity
  24. pop — music

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