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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: hand · fork · chest · bulb · snap · charge · staff · clip

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. clip — to cut
  3. staff — a stick
  4. bulb — for light
  5. charge — a price
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — employees
  8. chest — of your body
  9. hand — help
  10. bulb — for light
  11. clip — a video
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fork — in a road
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. charge — in control
  19. chest — a box
  20. hand — in cards
  21. charge — electricity
  22. chest — of your body
  23. clip — for paper
  24. hand — 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