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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: mine · chip · charge · present · kick · branch · straw · wound

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. present — the time now
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. kick — in football
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. charge — electricity
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. present — there
  9. chip — to eat
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. charge — in control
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. chip — for betting
  18. branch — a division
  19. wound — an injury
  20. present — a gift
  21. charge — a price
  22. wound — an injury
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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