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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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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: prune · chair · season · can · kid · charge · fork · last

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — a leader
  4. season — in sport
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. season — of the year
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. can — to be able to
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. kid — to tease
  12. can — a tin
  13. prune — to trim
  14. fork — in a road
  15. charge — electricity
  16. prune — to trim
  17. charge — in control
  18. can — a tin
  19. last — finally
  20. last — to go on
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. kid — child
  23. last — final
  24. charge — a price

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