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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. kid — to tease
  3. mate — a partner
  4. bound — certain
  5. bound — obliged
  6. charge — electricity
  7. charge — a price
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. fall — to drop
  10. chip — to eat
  11. wound — an injury
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. mate — a friend
  14. kid — child
  15. fall — to drop
  16. mate — to breed
  17. bound — tied together
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. craft — a skill
  21. charge — in control
  22. fall — the season
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chip — for betting

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