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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.

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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: kick · suit · plane · bulb · mine · field · net · cold

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. bulb — for light
  5. suit — clothes
  6. kick — in football
  7. net — for catching
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. cold — an illness
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. suit — in cards
  12. net — in sport
  13. suit — to fit
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — for digging
  17. plane — a tool
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. bulb — for light
  20. cold — not warm
  21. field — a subject
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. net — after costs
  24. plane — in geometry

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