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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bat · craft · charge · wound · staff · clip · prune · fork

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. craft — a skill
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. staff — employees
  5. clip — a video
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. fork — in a road
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. charge — a price
  11. craft — boats
  12. clip — to cut
  13. staff — a stick
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. wound — an injury
  20. charge — in control
  21. wound — an injury
  22. staff — employees
  23. bat — the animal
  24. fork — a garden tool

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