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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. field — farmland
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — for sport
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. plane — a tool
  9. charge — in control
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. field — a subject
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. band — a ring
  18. kick — in football
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. field — for sport
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. court — of law
  23. charge — a price
  24. band — a music group

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