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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 116 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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. charge — a price
  5. chip — for betting
  6. craft — boats
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. charge — electricity
  9. charge — in control
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. rock — a stone
  12. shower — to wash
  13. kid — child
  14. shower — rain
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. craft — a skill
  18. rock — music
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. chip — to eat
  24. bat — the animal

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