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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 · mine · net · mouse · cold · charge · straw · fine

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. field — farmland
  4. mine — for digging
  5. field — for sport
  6. cold — not warm
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — for catching
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. charge — in control
  13. fine — high quality
  14. charge — a price
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. field — a subject
  20. net — after costs
  21. cold — an illness
  22. charge — electricity
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. straw — dry grass

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