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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 · field · toast · clip · charge · wave · saw · tear

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. field — a subject
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. charge — electricity
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. charge — a price
  10. swing — to play on
  11. field — farmland
  12. swing — in golf
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. tear — to rip
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. clip — to cut
  18. toast — bread
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. field — for sport
  22. tear — from crying
  23. charge — in control
  24. swing — music

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