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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 116 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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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: wave · field · cap · bear · charge · land · swing · race

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — ground
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — farmland
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. field — for sport
  7. charge — electricity
  8. swing — to play on
  9. cap — a lid
  10. race — a contest
  11. charge — in control
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. charge — a price
  15. cap — a hat
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — music
  18. race — humankind
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. land — to come down
  21. cap — of ice
  22. bear — the animal
  23. race — the arms race
  24. bear — the animal

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