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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 120 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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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 · cell · saw · last · sharp · bat · march · trunk

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. bat — the animal
  6. charge — a price
  7. march — the month
  8. sharp — clever
  9. cell — a phone
  10. last — finally
  11. march — the month
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. last — to go on
  19. charge — electricity
  20. cell — in biology
  21. march — music
  22. last — final
  23. charge — in control
  24. bat — for baseball

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