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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: game · mate · field · staff · cold · cap · object · kick

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. game — wild animals
  3. object — a thing
  4. mate — a friend
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cold — an illness
  8. staff — employees
  9. mate — a partner
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. staff — employees
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — farmland
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. game — a match
  18. cap — a hat
  19. staff — a stick
  20. field — for sport
  21. object — an aim
  22. cap — a lid
  23. kick — in football
  24. object — to protest

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