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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: tube · prune · march · mine · can · charge · field · chair

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. charge — electricity
  3. can — to be able to
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. prune — to trim
  7. charge — in control
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. chair — a leader
  12. prune — to trim
  13. can — a tin
  14. tube — the underground
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. field — for sport
  18. tube — a container
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — for digging
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — farmland
  23. march — music
  24. can — a tin

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