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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: field · face · toast · cell · march · charge · game · file

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. face — to confront
  4. face — part of the head
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in biology
  7. charge — in control
  8. march — the month
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. file — a line of people
  13. face — to point toward
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. charge — electricity
  17. game — a match
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. file — a document
  20. field — for sport
  21. game — wild animals
  22. toast — bread
  23. charge — a price
  24. cell — in a prison

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