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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 116 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 · hide · wind · field · snap · dip · present · band

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wind — moving air
  3. band — a music group
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. snap — to click
  6. present — there
  7. field — for sport
  8. dip — to sink
  9. wind — moving air
  10. craft — boats
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. field — farmland
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. field — a subject
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. present — a gift
  23. craft — a skill
  24. present — the time now

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