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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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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: charge · field · net · rush · perch · degree · band · cap

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. charge — a price
  3. cap — a hat
  4. field — a subject
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. cap — a lid
  7. net — for catching
  8. degree — from a university
  9. net — in sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. degree — an amount
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. cap — of ice
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. charge — in control
  16. degree — temperature
  17. rush — hurry
  18. net — after costs
  19. band — a ring
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. band — a music group
  23. field — for sport
  24. charge — electricity

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