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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: bass · leaves · field · mark · charge · land · craft · kid

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. field — a subject
  3. land — ground
  4. field — for sport
  5. bass — low music
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — a skill
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. field — farmland
  10. charge — electricity
  11. craft — boats
  12. bass — the fish
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. kid — child
  17. charge — a price
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. kid — to tease
  21. charge — in control
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mark — a grade
  24. land — to come down

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