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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  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. charge — electricity
  2. charge — a price
  3. charge — in control
  4. field — farmland
  5. bass — the fish
  6. lean — thin
  7. field — a subject
  8. cold — an illness
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. cold — not warm
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. prune — to trim
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. lean — to bend
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bass — low music
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  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