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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: craft · charge · wind · mine · rest · chest · key · foot

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. key — the most important part
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wind — moving air
  6. foot — a measure
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. key — for a lock
  13. rest — a break
  14. craft — a skill
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. rest — what's left
  19. charge — in control
  20. charge — electricity
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. charge — a price
  23. key — in music
  24. chest — a box

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