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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: fork · charge · mine · mug · prune · march · tube · bat

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. mug — a cup
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. march — the month
  5. charge — electricity
  6. mug — a face
  7. mug — to rob
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. tube — the underground
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. prune — to trim
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. tube — a container
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. charge — a price
  21. prune — to trim
  22. charge — in control
  23. fork — in a road
  24. bat — the animal

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