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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 116 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: charge · bat · mate · sharp · march · last · mug · tear

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mug — a face
  3. charge — a price
  4. last — final
  5. march — music
  6. mug — a cup
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mate — a partner
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. mate — to breed
  13. last — finally
  14. march — the month
  15. tear — from crying
  16. charge — in control
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. mug — to rob
  19. charge — electricity
  20. last — to go on
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — clever
  23. bat — the animal
  24. sharp — exactly

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