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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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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 · racket · drill · net · hide · bowl · field · last

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. field — farmland
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. kick — in football
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. drill — a practice
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. last — final
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. net — for catching
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. net — in sport
  15. field — for sport
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. net — after costs
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. drill — army training
  21. drill — the tool
  22. field — a subject
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. last — finally

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