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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: race · stem · charge · board · chest · shower · prune · arm

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. shower — to wash
  4. board — to get on
  5. stem — to come from
  6. chest — a box
  7. shower — rain
  8. charge — in control
  9. chest — of your body
  10. prune — to trim
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. board — a committee
  13. charge — a price
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. race — humankind
  19. prune — to trim
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. race — a contest
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. race — the arms race
  24. chest — of your 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