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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: snap · last · charge · net · field · calf · row · mine

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — after costs
  5. snap — to click
  6. row — a line
  7. row — to paddle
  8. last — to go on
  9. field — for sport
  10. charge — a price
  11. net — in sport
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. last — final
  14. field — a subject
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. charge — in control
  19. field — farmland
  20. last — finally
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. calf — a young animal

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