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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: mine · saw · prune · charge · row · cap · key · land

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. charge — a price
  3. cap — a hat
  4. charge — electricity
  5. saw — the tool
  6. mine — for digging
  7. land — ground
  8. key — the most important part
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. cap — of ice
  11. land — to come down
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. land — a country
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. charge — in control
  16. saw — the tool
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a line
  19. prune — to trim
  20. cap — a lid
  21. key — in music
  22. key — for a lock
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. prune — to trim

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