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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: field · lean · suit · mine · present · cell · kick · stand

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. present — a gift
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. cell — a phone
  6. field — a subject
  7. suit — to fit
  8. kick — in football
  9. suit — clothes
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. lean — thin
  12. present — there
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. present — the time now
  16. lean — to bend
  17. stand — to bear
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. mine — for digging
  20. field — farmland
  21. suit — in cards
  22. field — for sport
  23. cell — in biology
  24. mine — belonging to me

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