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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: fork · bay · hide · cell · field · kick · net · kid

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. net — in sport
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. net — for catching
  5. kid — to tease
  6. net — after costs
  7. cell — a phone
  8. field — for sport
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. fork — in a road
  13. kick — in football
  14. field — a subject
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. kid — child
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. field — farmland
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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