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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: shower · field · nail · present · charge · cabinet · land · content

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. charge — a price
  3. present — a gift
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. present — there
  6. shower — rain
  7. present — the time now
  8. field — a subject
  9. content — happy
  10. charge — in control
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. land — ground
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. field — farmland
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. charge — electricity
  17. content — the amount
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. shower — to wash
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. land — a country
  24. field — for sport

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