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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mate · clip · arm · spring · sharp · cell · charge · field

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. sharp — clever
  3. charge — in control
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. mate — to breed
  7. mate — a friend
  8. cell — in biology
  9. charge — a price
  10. field — farmland
  11. charge — electricity
  12. field — a subject
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. mate — a partner
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — a coil
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. clip — for paper
  23. spring — the season
  24. cell — a phone

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