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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: saw · charge · file · stock · fork · hand · craft · wake

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. craft — a skill
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. file — a line of people
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. wake — a trail
  7. charge — a price
  8. file — a document
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — help
  12. stock — shares
  13. saw — the tool
  14. charge — electricity
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. file — a tool
  17. fork — in a road
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. stock — goods
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. charge — in control
  23. craft — boats
  24. saw — the 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