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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: wake · chip · charge · cap · squash · bowl · bark · branch

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. charge — a price
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. branch — a division
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. squash — the sport
  9. cap — of ice
  10. chip — for betting
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. squash — to crush
  13. wake — a trail
  14. bark — to shout
  15. cap — a lid
  16. charge — electricity
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. chip — to eat
  19. cap — a hat
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. charge — in control
  24. bowl — to roll

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