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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: band · wind · squash · mouse · bark · craft · kid · hide

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. squash — the sport
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. kid — child
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. kid — to tease
  11. wind — moving air
  12. craft — a skill
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. bark — to shout
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. squash — to crush
  21. band — a ring
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. craft — boats
  24. wind — moving air

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