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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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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: swing · spring · cap · rock · file · field · charge · can

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. rock — music
  3. charge — a price
  4. cap — of ice
  5. file — a document
  6. spring — the season
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. swing — to play on
  9. cap — a lid
  10. spring — of water
  11. field — farmland
  12. can — a tin
  13. swing — in golf
  14. can — a tin
  15. swing — music
  16. field — for sport
  17. file — a tool
  18. charge — in control
  19. cap — a hat
  20. file — a line of people
  21. can — to be able to
  22. rock — a stone
  23. charge — electricity
  24. spring — a coil

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