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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 120 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: straw · game · field · current · wake · spring · bear · charge

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. charge — in control
  3. bear — the animal
  4. charge — a price
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. field — a subject
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. current — happening now
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. current — of water
  12. bear — the animal
  13. game — wild animals
  14. charge — electricity
  15. field — farmland
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. wake — a trail
  19. game — a match
  20. spring — of water
  21. field — for sport
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — a coil
  24. current — electric

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