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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: fine · charge · wax · clip · land · drill · mate · field

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. clip — a video
  3. charge — in control
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. land — a country
  6. field — farmland
  7. fine — all right
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — for sport
  10. drill — army training
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. drill — a practice
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. land — ground
  15. mate — a partner
  16. charge — a price
  17. clip — for paper
  18. land — to come down
  19. wax — to grow
  20. clip — to cut
  21. mate — to breed
  22. mate — a friend
  23. charge — electricity
  24. drill — the tool

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