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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 · charge · pitch · bark · squash · chest · straw · kick

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. board — a committee
  10. kick — in football
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. board — to get on
  13. squash — the sport
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. squash — to crush
  16. pitch — completely
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. charge — in control
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. charge — a price
  24. straw — dry grass

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