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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — for sport
  3. charge — in control
  4. charge — electricity
  5. charge — a price
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. file — a tool
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. root — of a plant
  11. prune — to trim
  12. club — for golf
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a document
  15. prune — to trim
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. field — farmland
  18. root — of a word
  19. club — for dancing
  20. club — a group
  21. root — the cause
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. fan — to cool the air

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