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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: charge · trunk · chest · march · prune · band · arm · ground

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. chest — of your body
  4. charge — electricity
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. prune — to trim
  9. charge — a price
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. march — the month
  13. ground — a position
  14. chest — a box
  15. band — a ring
  16. chest — of your body
  17. ground — the earth
  18. charge — in control
  19. ground — crushed
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. band — a music group
  24. arm — part of the body

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