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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: perch · land · spring · field · wax · mark · clip · charge

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. mark — a trace
  5. charge — a price
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. land — ground
  8. clip — to cut
  9. charge — in control
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. spring — a coil
  12. land — to come down
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. charge — electricity
  16. field — a subject
  17. land — a country
  18. spring — of water
  19. field — farmland
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. spring — the season
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. wax — to grow

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