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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 120 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 tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. field — farmland
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. face — to confront
  7. charge — in control
  8. charge — electricity
  9. capital — money
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. mate — a partner
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. capital — a city
  16. prune — to trim
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. prune — to trim
  19. field — a subject
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — to breed
  22. field — for sport
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to point toward

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