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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: wound · bark · scale · charge · row · clip · wind · chip

  1. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — for paper
  7. charge — a price
  8. wind — moving air
  9. scale — size or range
  10. chip — to eat
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. clip — to cut
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. bark — to shout
  15. wind — moving air
  16. chip — for betting
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. wound — an injury
  19. scale — in music
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. row — a line
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. row — to paddle
  24. charge — electricity

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