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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · march · charge · tube · mine · track · mate · spell

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. track — a path
  5. mate — a friend
  6. tube — a container
  7. charge — a price
  8. spell — letters
  9. march — the month
  10. clip — for paper
  11. track — a song
  12. tube — the underground
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. spell — magic
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. clip — to cut
  18. mate — to breed
  19. clip — a video
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. charge — in control
  22. spell — a short time
  23. track — to keep track
  24. mine — for digging

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