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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: rock · field · lash · mine · charge · bat · track · cabinet

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. charge — electricity
  3. rock — a stone
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. field — a subject
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. track — to keep track
  8. charge — a price
  9. field — for sport
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. charge — in control
  13. track — a song
  14. bat — the animal
  15. track — a path
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. rock — music
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. field — farmland
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. lash — an eyelash

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