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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 · file · trunk · stand · field · pop · capital · dip

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — for sport
  3. file — a document
  4. field — a subject
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. pop — to visit
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — a city
  13. charge — a price
  14. stand — to bear
  15. pop — soda
  16. charge — in control
  17. dip — to sink
  18. charge — electricity
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. pop — music
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. capital — money
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a line of people

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