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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: leaves · calf · cell · pop · bark · charge · land · net

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — a country
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. pop — to visit
  8. charge — in control
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. pop — soda
  12. charge — electricity
  13. pop — music
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — after costs
  16. bark — to shout
  17. land — to come down
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. net — in sport
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. charge — a price
  24. cell — in biology

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