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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 120 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: face · charge · field · straw · sharp · tube · current · capital

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  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. tube — a container
  2. face — to point toward
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. capital — a city
  5. face — part of the head
  6. sharp — clever
  7. tube — the underground
  8. capital — money
  9. field — farmland
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. charge — electricity
  14. field — a subject
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. charge — a price
  17. charge — in control
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. face — to confront
  20. current — electric
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. current — of water
  23. current — happening now
  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