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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: pop · bat · game · ground · mine · branch · charge · pass

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. pop — to visit
  4. ground — crushed
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. branch — a division
  7. pop — soda
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. charge — electricity
  10. game — a match
  11. bat — the animal
  12. mine — for digging
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. charge — a price
  17. ground — a position
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. charge — in control
  21. ground — the earth
  22. game — wild animals
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. pop — music

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