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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 116 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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. charge — electricity
  3. saw — the tool
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. saw — the tool
  7. field — a subject
  8. root — the cause
  9. root — of a word
  10. court — for sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. root — of a plant
  13. court — of a king
  14. lean — to bend
  15. charge — in control
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. lean — thin
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — the arms race
  20. field — for sport
  21. race — humankind
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. court — of law
  24. fan — a supporter

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