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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: kid · ground · bat · hide · cue · branch · wave · charge

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. cue — a signal
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. cue — for pool
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. kid — to tease
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — crushed
  12. charge — electricity
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. charge — in control
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. kid — child
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. branch — a division
  23. ground — a position
  24. cue — a hint

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