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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.

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: capital · kick · plane · field · season · charge · mine · bass

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. charge — a price
  4. field — farmland
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. charge — electricity
  8. capital — a city
  9. plane — a tool
  10. kick — in football
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. capital — money
  13. season — of the year
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. field — for sport
  17. bass — low music
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. field — a subject
  23. charge — in control
  24. bass — the fish

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