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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: prune · charge · chest · tube · rule · march · press · trunk

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. press — to push
  4. march — the month
  5. chest — of your body
  6. tube — the underground
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. charge — in control
  10. prune — to trim
  11. charge — electricity
  12. charge — a price
  13. prune — to trim
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. march — music
  16. tube — a container
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — a publisher
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. rule — a law
  24. march — the month

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