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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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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: clip · charge · rash · row · wind · chest

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rash — hasty
  5. row — a line
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — a video
  8. charge — in control
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. clip — for paper
  11. wind — moving air
  12. row — to paddle
  13. chest — a box
  14. charge — electricity
  15. wind — moving air
  16. charge — a price
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. rash — a series

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