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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: chip · ground · present · cell · branch · spring · straw · wave

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  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 was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. chip — to eat
  3. cell — a phone
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — in biology
  7. spring — the season
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. spring — of water
  12. branch — a division
  13. ground — a position
  14. present — there
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. ground — the earth
  20. chip — for betting
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — a gift
  24. ground — crushed

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