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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: foot · charge · field · mine · fork · shower · nail · spring

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. foot — a measure
  3. spring — of water
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. charge — a price
  6. spring — the season
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. field — farmland
  9. charge — in control
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. mine — for digging
  12. shower — to wash
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. shower — rain
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. spring — a coil
  21. field — a subject
  22. fork — in a road
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. field — for sport

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