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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: fork · clip · hand · branch · shower · plane · charge · content

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. plane — a tool
  3. charge — a price
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. clip — for paper
  9. shower — rain
  10. branch — a division
  11. hand — in cards
  12. fork — in a road
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. clip — a video
  16. content — the amount
  17. clip — to cut
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — happy
  20. hand — help
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. shower — to wash
  23. charge — in control
  24. plane — an aircraft

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