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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: can · wave · charge · cell · field · wound · race · lie

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. charge — electricity
  3. charge — a price
  4. charge — in control
  5. field — a subject
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. can — a tin
  9. race — a contest
  10. wound — an injury
  11. race — the arms race
  12. lie — to recline
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. field — farmland
  15. race — humankind
  16. field — for sport
  17. can — to be able to
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. can — a tin
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. cell — in biology
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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