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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. field — a subject
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — to be able to
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. cell — in biology
  7. charge — electricity
  8. charge — a price
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — a phone
  12. field — farmland
  13. can — a tin
  14. field — for sport
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. charge — in control
  18. bat — for baseball

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