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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: file · shower · field · rest · game · spring · branch · charge

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. field — for sport
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. rest — what's left
  6. field — a subject
  7. file — a document
  8. branch — a division
  9. rest — what's left
  10. game — a match
  11. spring — the season
  12. shower — rain
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. file — a line of people
  15. game — wild animals
  16. rest — a break
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — of water
  20. field — farmland
  21. charge — electricity
  22. charge — a price
  23. shower — to wash
  24. charge — in control

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