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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: scale · lean · kick · net · dip · field · hand · file

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. hand — in cards
  3. lean — to bend
  4. net — after costs
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. hand — help
  7. scale — size or range
  8. net — in sport
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — farmland
  11. scale — in music
  12. kick — in football
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a line of people
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. field — for sport
  19. lean — thin
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. dip — to sink
  22. file — a tool
  23. net — for catching
  24. hand — part of the body

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