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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: board · mine · stem · date · press · pitcher · charge · kick

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. mine — for digging
  8. charge — electricity
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. board — to get on
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. press — a publisher
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. date — the fruit
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stem — to come from
  19. press — to push
  20. charge — in control
  21. press — newspapers
  22. kick — in football
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. charge — a price

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