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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: perch · hand · stem · mine · field · cue · press · charge

  1. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. field — a subject
  4. cue — a hint
  5. press — a publisher
  6. mine — for digging
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stem — to come from
  11. press — to push
  12. cue — a signal
  13. field — farmland
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. charge — a price
  16. charge — electricity
  17. hand — help
  18. field — for sport
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. cue — for pool
  22. perch — the fish
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. press — newspapers

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