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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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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: cell · perch · bat · field · net · charge · race · fall

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. field — for sport
  3. perch — the fish
  4. cell — a phone
  5. fall — the season
  6. bat — the animal
  7. net — for catching
  8. charge — electricity
  9. fall — to drop
  10. charge — a price
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — a contest
  17. net — after costs
  18. race — humankind
  19. field — a subject
  20. charge — in control
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. fall — to drop
  24. field — farmland

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