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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: craft · kick · charge · snap · race · clip

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. clip — for paper
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. kick — in football
  5. charge — in control
  6. clip — a video
  7. race — the arms race
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. charge — a price
  10. clip — to cut
  11. snap — to click
  12. race — humankind
  13. craft — boats
  14. craft — a skill
  15. race — a contest
  16. charge — electricity
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. kick — with a leg

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