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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: rash · field · sharp · hand · saw · bat · fine · charge

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. hand — help
  3. field — a subject
  4. rash — a series
  5. rash — hasty
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. saw — the tool
  8. fine — high quality
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. charge — a price
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — clever
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. field — farmland
  17. bat — the animal
  18. field — for sport
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. charge — in control
  21. saw — the tool
  22. charge — electricity
  23. hand — in cards
  24. bat — for baseball

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