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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 · field · wound · season · object · wake · cell · craft

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. object — to protest
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. season — of the year
  5. wound — an injury
  6. craft — boats
  7. cell — a phone
  8. field — a subject
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. object — an aim
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. season — in sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. object — a thing
  18. cell — in biology
  19. craft — a skill
  20. wake — a trail
  21. kick — in football
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. wound — an injury

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