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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 · court · lash · charge · rest · board · mine · jam

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. board — a committee
  3. court — of a king
  4. rest — what's left
  5. chest — of your body
  6. charge — in control
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. board — to get on
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. charge — a price
  11. chest — of your body
  12. court — for sport
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. rest — a break
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. rest — what's left
  17. chest — a box
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. court — of law
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. charge — electricity
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. mine — for digging

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