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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. net — after costs
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. cold — an illness
  7. sharp — clever
  8. field — farmland
  9. charge — electricity
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. swing — music
  12. field — a subject
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. field — for sport
  15. swing — in golf
  16. net — for catching
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. cold — not warm
  20. net — in sport
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. swing — to play on
  23. charge — a price
  24. cold — the Cold War

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