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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
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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: wind · march · snap · rush · bound · ground · hide · craft

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. march — the month
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. ground — the earth
  7. snap — to click
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. bound — tied together
  10. march — the month
  11. bound — obliged
  12. craft — a skill
  13. bound — certain
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. ground — crushed
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. wind — moving air
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. march — music
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. ground — a position
  24. craft — boats

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