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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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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: arm · pound · board · cell · chip · date

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. cell — a phone
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. pound — a weight
  12. chip — to eat
  13. date — the fruit
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. board — to get on
  17. cell — in biology
  18. chip — for betting

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