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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: charge · wind · hand · row · temple · clip · root · dip

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — in cards
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. charge — electricity
  7. charge — a price
  8. root — of a word
  9. clip — for paper
  10. root — the cause
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. root — of a plant
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — a line
  16. wind — moving air
  17. clip — to cut
  18. charge — in control
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. dip — to sink
  22. hand — help
  23. clip — a video
  24. wind — moving air

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