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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. charge — a price
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. spring — a coil
  8. shower — rain
  9. bound — obliged
  10. field — a subject
  11. bound — certain
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. dip — to sink
  14. charge — in control
  15. spring — the season
  16. season — in sport
  17. shower — to wash
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. season — of the year
  20. charge — electricity
  21. spring — of water
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. bound — tied together
  24. field — for sport

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