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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: chest · charge · bear · saw · march · sharp · object · board

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. chest — a box
  3. object — a thing
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. charge — electricity
  6. board — a committee
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. march — the month
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. bear — the animal
  13. saw — the tool
  14. object — to protest
  15. charge — a price
  16. chest — of your body
  17. march — the month
  18. sharp — clever
  19. object — an aim
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. charge — in control
  22. march — music
  23. bear — the animal
  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