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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 120 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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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 · clip · scale · tear · wind · charge · arm · board

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. charge — in control
  5. clip — for paper
  6. craft — boats
  7. board — a committee
  8. wind — moving air
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. board — to get on
  12. craft — a skill
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. charge — electricity
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — in music
  24. charge — a price

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