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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: band · march · temple · bear · prune · key · tear · charge

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. march — music
  5. prune — to trim
  6. band — a ring
  7. key — for a lock
  8. key — the most important part
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. bear — the animal
  11. march — the month
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. march — the month
  15. tear — from crying
  16. charge — a price
  17. bear — the animal
  18. key — in music
  19. tear — from crying
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. charge — in control
  23. band — a music group
  24. tear — to rip

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