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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 120 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: clip · hand · nail · content · swing · bank · charge · shower

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bank — of a river
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — help
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. swing — music
  7. charge — electricity
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — for money
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. clip — for paper
  12. content — happy
  13. clip — a video
  14. shower — to wash
  15. swing — in golf
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. shower — rain
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. content — the amount
  20. clip — to cut
  21. charge — a price
  22. swing — to play on
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. charge — in control

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