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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. land — a country
  3. field — farmland
  4. land — to come down
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. charge — in control
  8. rock — music
  9. charge — a price
  10. hand — in cards
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. land — ground
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. hand — help
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — for sport
  19. rock — a stone
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. patient — a sick person

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