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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: staff · last · clip · chest · craft · hand · fan · kick

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — help
  4. clip — to cut
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. clip — for paper
  8. chest — a box
  9. craft — a skill
  10. kick — in football
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. last — to go on
  13. clip — a video
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. staff — employees
  16. craft — boats
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. last — final
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. staff — a stick
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. staff — employees
  24. last — finally

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