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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: rock · kid · tear · wound · ball · charge · clip · foot

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. foot — a measure
  3. clip — for paper
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. tear — from crying
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. ball — a dance
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rock — a stone
  10. kid — child
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. tear — to rip
  14. clip — to cut
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. clip — a video
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. ball — a great time
  20. kid — to tease
  21. charge — a price
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. charge — electricity
  24. charge — in control

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