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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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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: kid · game · plane · land · kick · deal · pound · field

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. kick — in football
  5. field — farmland
  6. plane — a tool
  7. game — a match
  8. land — a country
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. pound — a weight
  13. kid — child
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. deal — to handle
  17. land — ground
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. field — a subject
  20. kid — to tease
  21. land — to come down
  22. game — wild animals
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. plane — an aircraft

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