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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: file · face · suit · charge · spell · prune · wax · field

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. face — to confront
  3. charge — in control
  4. field — farmland
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. prune — to trim
  7. file — a line of people
  8. face — to point toward
  9. prune — to trim
  10. file — a document
  11. spell — magic
  12. suit — to fit
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. charge — a price
  15. spell — letters
  16. wax — to grow
  17. field — for sport
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. field — a subject
  20. suit — in cards
  21. face — part of the head
  22. suit — clothes
  23. spell — a short time
  24. file — a tool

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