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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: present · race · content · craft · hide · prune

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. prune — to trim
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. race — the arms race
  5. content — happy
  6. present — there
  7. present — a gift
  8. present — the time now
  9. craft — a skill
  10. prune — to trim
  11. race — a contest
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. race — humankind
  17. content — the amount
  18. hide — to keep secret

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