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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: season · clip · present · snap · file · temple · bound · hide

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. file — a document
  5. clip — for paper
  6. present — a gift
  7. snap — to click
  8. bound — obliged
  9. file — a line of people
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. clip — a video
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. clip — to cut
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bound — certain
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. file — a tool
  20. present — the time now
  21. season — in sport
  22. bound — tied together
  23. season — of the year
  24. present — there

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