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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 116 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: nail · mate · field · chip · kick · cell · charge · swing

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. field — for sport
  3. swing — to play on
  4. cell — a phone
  5. charge — electricity
  6. swing — in golf
  7. mate — to breed
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. chip — to eat
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. chip — for betting
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. mate — a partner
  16. charge — a price
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. kick — in football
  19. cell — in biology
  20. mate — a friend
  21. swing — music
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — a subject
  24. charge — in control

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