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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: firm · hand · clip · chest · spell · kid · charge · bank

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. charge — electricity
  3. charge — in control
  4. firm — steady
  5. firm — decided
  6. bank — of a river
  7. bank — for money
  8. clip — a video
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — child
  11. chest — of your body
  12. spell — a short time
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. clip — to cut
  15. charge — a price
  16. clip — for paper
  17. spell — magic
  18. hand — help
  19. bank — for money
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. firm — a company
  22. hand — in cards
  23. chest — a box
  24. spell — letters

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