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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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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: season · charge · field · fan · spring · rest · firm · game

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. field — a subject
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. firm — a company
  5. spring — a coil
  6. game — wild animals
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. field — for sport
  10. firm — decided
  11. rest — what's left
  12. charge — a price
  13. rest — a break
  14. charge — electricity
  15. spring — the season
  16. field — farmland
  17. charge — in control
  18. game — a match
  19. season — in sport
  20. spring — of water
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. firm — steady
  24. rest — what's left

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