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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: fall · spring · present · charge · chip · field · bat · straw

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. field — farmland
  5. charge — a price
  6. present — the time now
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. chip — to eat
  9. chip — for betting
  10. field — a subject
  11. present — a gift
  12. bat — the animal
  13. charge — in control
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. charge — electricity
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. field — for sport
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — a coil
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. present — there
  23. spring — of water
  24. bat — for baseball

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