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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: straw · mark · bear · cell · pop · spring · field · kick

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. mark — a trace
  5. field — for sport
  6. cell — in biology
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pop — music
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. field — a subject
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. bear — the animal
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. field — farmland
  17. spring — of water
  18. pop — soda
  19. spring — the season
  20. pop — to visit
  21. mark — a grade
  22. cell — a phone
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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