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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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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: rock · charge · branch · pitcher · chest · board · bat · wax

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. charge — in control
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. rock — music
  7. branch — a division
  8. board — a committee
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. charge — electricity
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. rock — a stone
  23. wax — to grow
  24. board — to get on

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