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

Word bank: rule · mine · plane · field · kid · craft · charge · race

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. charge — electricity
  3. craft — a skill
  4. rule — government
  5. charge — in control
  6. craft — boats
  7. kid — to tease
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. race — humankind
  11. field — for sport
  12. race — the arms race
  13. plane — a tool
  14. mine — for digging
  15. field — a subject
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. race — a contest
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. charge — a price
  20. kid — child
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. rule — a law
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — in geometry

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