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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: rash · field · branch · charge · object · cap · face · shower

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. field — for sport
  3. face — to point toward
  4. charge — a price
  5. shower — to wash
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. field — farmland
  8. object — an aim
  9. cap — a lid
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — rain
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cap — a hat
  14. face — to confront
  15. branch — a division
  16. charge — in control
  17. face — part of the head
  18. rash — a series
  19. object — to protest
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. object — a thing
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. rash — hasty
  24. field — a subject

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