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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: spell · branch · chip · last · pop · row · sharp · cell

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. last — final
  3. spell — magic
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. row — a line
  6. chip — to eat
  7. last — finally
  8. pop — music
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. pop — to visit
  11. chip — for betting
  12. sharp — clever
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. spell — a short time
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — a phone
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. branch — a division
  20. last — to go on
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. spell — letters
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. row — to paddle

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