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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wax · march · season · kick · net · field · mark · kid

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kid — child
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. field — a subject
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — to tease
  7. field — for sport
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. mark — a grade
  11. field — farmland
  12. net — after costs
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. net — in sport
  15. season — in sport
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. kick — in football
  19. mark — a trace
  20. net — for catching
  21. march — the month
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. season — of the year
  24. wax — to grow

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