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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: file · wind · mate · snap · hide · stick

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. mate — a partner
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. mate — a friend
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. wind — moving air
  10. file — a tool
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. mate — to breed
  15. snap — to click
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a document

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