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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. charge — electricity
  3. field — for sport
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. prune — to trim
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. present — there
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. charge — in control
  12. field — farmland
  13. present — a gift
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. field — a subject
  16. game — a match
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. prune — to trim
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. present — the time now
  21. toast — bread
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. charge — a price

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