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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: bound · chest · arm · stem · charge · board · roll · sharp

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. charge — electricity
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. bound — tied together
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bound — obliged
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. board — to get on
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. charge — in control
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. roll — a cake
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. stem — to come from
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bound — certain
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. charge — a price
  24. roll — a list

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