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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: cap · current · staff · chest · tear · kid · bound · craft

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. staff — a stick
  3. staff — employees
  4. current — happening now
  5. craft — boats
  6. kid — child
  7. current — electric
  8. tear — to rip
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. chest — of your body
  11. craft — a skill
  12. current — of water
  13. cap — a hat
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bound — certain
  17. cap — a lid
  18. tear — from crying
  19. staff — employees
  20. bound — obliged
  21. cap — of ice
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bound — tied together
  24. kid — to tease

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