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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: straw · ground · kid · cell · pop · net · charge · branch

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  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. net — for catching
  2. kid — child
  3. cell — a phone
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. pop — music
  7. charge — in control
  8. cell — in biology
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — a position
  11. net — after costs
  12. pop — to visit
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. net — in sport
  15. branch — a division
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. ground — the earth
  19. charge — a price
  20. pop — soda
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. charge — electricity
  23. kid — to tease
  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