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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: craft · wound · charge · staff · tear · kick · shower · clip

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. charge — electricity
  3. shower — to wash
  4. clip — for paper
  5. craft — a skill
  6. staff — employees
  7. craft — boats
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. shower — rain
  10. tear — to rip
  11. staff — a stick
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. charge — a price
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. tear — from crying
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. wound — an injury
  18. clip — a video
  19. charge — in control
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. clip — to cut
  22. kick — in football
  23. staff — employees
  24. tear — from crying

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