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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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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: field · scale · ground · press · rash · charge · date · tear

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. press — a publisher
  3. press — to push
  4. scale — size or range
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — the earth
  7. charge — electricity
  8. date — the fruit
  9. tear — from crying
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — farmland
  13. tear — from crying
  14. charge — in control
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. press — newspapers
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. rash — a series
  19. ground — crushed
  20. tear — to rip
  21. charge — a price
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — in music

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