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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: charge · wake · kick · field · plane · straw · game · net

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. charge — a price
  3. net — for catching
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. net — in sport
  8. game — wild animals
  9. plane — a tool
  10. kick — in football
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — a trail
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. game — a match
  16. charge — in control
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. field — for sport
  19. charge — electricity
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. net — after costs
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. field — farmland

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