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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: field · swing · charge · season · game · mine · present · kick

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. field — for sport
  3. swing — to play on
  4. game — a match
  5. swing — music
  6. season — of the year
  7. present — there
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — wild animals
  10. mine — for digging
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. present — the time now
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. season — in sport
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. kick — in football
  17. present — a gift
  18. field — farmland
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. charge — in control
  21. swing — in golf
  22. charge — a price
  23. charge — electricity
  24. field — a subject

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