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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: plane · field · charge · stand · cap · wound · rash · clip

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  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. plane — a tool
  2. charge — a price
  3. cap — of ice
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. field — for sport
  6. stand — to bear
  7. clip — to cut
  8. charge — electricity
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — hasty
  11. field — a subject
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cap — a lid
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. field — farmland
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cap — a hat
  20. clip — for paper
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. clip — a video
  23. charge — in control
  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