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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 116 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: bound · season · scale · wound · march · kick · field · fork

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. bound — obliged
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. bound — certain
  6. march — the month
  7. field — for sport
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bound — tied together
  10. kick — in football
  11. field — a subject
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. march — the month
  14. season — of the year
  15. wound — an injury
  16. march — music
  17. scale — size or range
  18. field — farmland
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. scale — in music
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. fork — in a road
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. season — in sport

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