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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: charge · mug · shower · row · field · face · mark · wound

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. charge — electricity
  3. mark — a trace
  4. field — for sport
  5. mark — a grade
  6. face — part of the head
  7. shower — to wash
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mug — a face
  11. charge — a price
  12. field — a subject
  13. row — a line
  14. charge — in control
  15. face — to confront
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. mug — a cup
  18. shower — rain
  19. row — to paddle
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. field — farmland
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. face — to point toward

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