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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. field — farmland
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. field — a subject
  6. rest — a break
  7. rest — what's left
  8. pop — music
  9. bat — the animal
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. pop — to visit
  12. dip — to sink
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. can — to be able to
  15. field — for sport
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. can — a tin
  19. can — a tin
  20. charge — in control
  21. charge — a price
  22. foot — a measure
  23. rest — what's left
  24. pop — soda

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