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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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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 · tear · pound · chip · scale · clip · shower · mug

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. mug — to rob
  4. craft — a skill
  5. mug — a cup
  6. clip — to cut
  7. scale — in music
  8. pound — a weight
  9. tear — to rip
  10. clip — a video
  11. chip — to eat
  12. tear — from crying
  13. chip — for betting
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — to wash
  16. scale — size or range
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. mug — a face
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. clip — for paper
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. tear — from crying
  24. shower — rain

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