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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: kick · field · season · fine · race · net · perch · shower

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. field — for sport
  4. race — a contest
  5. season — of the year
  6. field — a subject
  7. shower — to wash
  8. kick — in football
  9. race — the arms race
  10. net — after costs
  11. fine — high quality
  12. perch — the fish
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. net — for catching
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. race — humankind
  17. shower — rain
  18. season — in sport
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. fine — all right
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. net — in sport
  24. fine — a penalty

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