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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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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: net · track · last · pop · field · bulb · bat · charge

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. pop — to visit
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. charge — electricity
  6. net — in sport
  7. pop — music
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bulb — for light
  10. charge — a price
  11. track — to keep track
  12. bulb — for light
  13. field — a subject
  14. last — finally
  15. charge — in control
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. pop — soda
  18. field — farmland
  19. bat — the animal
  20. track — a song
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. net — for catching
  23. field — for sport
  24. net — after costs

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