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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. charge — a price
  3. field — for sport
  4. bank — of a river
  5. field — a subject
  6. saw — the tool
  7. cold — an illness
  8. fine — high quality
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bank — for money
  11. fine — all right
  12. charge — electricity
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. kid — child
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. field — farmland
  18. ball — a great time
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. cold — not warm
  21. charge — in control
  22. bank — for money
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. ball — a dance

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