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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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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: content · field · wake · wind · charge · row · cap · fork

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. charge — in control
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. cap — a hat
  5. wake — a trail
  6. field — farmland
  7. row — a line
  8. wind — moving air
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. wind — moving air
  11. charge — electricity
  12. fork — in a road
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. content — the amount
  17. field — for sport
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. cap — of ice
  20. content — happy
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. charge — a price
  23. cap — a lid
  24. row — to paddle

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