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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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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: charge · snap · craft · squash · row · pass · kid · march

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. charge — electricity
  3. row — a line
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. snap — to click
  6. craft — a skill
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. charge — in control
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. march — music
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — to paddle
  13. charge — a price
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. kid — to tease
  16. march — the month
  17. kid — child
  18. pass — a permit
  19. squash — to crush
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. march — the month
  22. squash — the sport
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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