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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: shower · craft · arm · kick · toast · sharp · clip · bank

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. bank — for money
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. bank — for money
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. clip — to cut
  11. shower — to wash
  12. toast — bread
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. clip — for paper
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. sharp — clever
  17. clip — a video
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. kick — in football
  21. bank — of a river
  22. craft — a skill
  23. shower — rain
  24. arm — part of the body

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