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

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. game — wild animals
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. game — a match
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. charge — in control
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. charge — electricity
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. pitch — completely
  20. row — to paddle
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. row — a line
  24. field — a subject

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