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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: face · stem · charge · swing · trunk · cold · chest · bound

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. bound — tied together
  3. chest — a box
  4. bound — certain
  5. charge — a price
  6. charge — electricity
  7. chest — of your body
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. cold — an illness
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. swing — music
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. face — to confront
  14. chest — of your body
  15. face — to point toward
  16. swing — in golf
  17. face — part of the head
  18. stem — to come from
  19. cold — not warm
  20. charge — in control
  21. swing — to play on
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. bound — obliged
  24. cold — the Cold War

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