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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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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 · clip · mouse · charge · fan · game · staff · face

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. charge — in control
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — a video
  5. face — to point toward
  6. charge — electricity
  7. field — a subject
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. field — for sport
  10. staff — a stick
  11. field — farmland
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. staff — employees
  15. game — a match
  16. staff — employees
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. charge — a price
  22. game — wild animals
  23. face — part of the head
  24. clip — for paper

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