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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: field · bay · bound · row · net · sharp · snap · hide

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bound — obliged
  3. field — for sport
  4. net — for catching
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. field — farmland
  9. row — to paddle
  10. net — in sport
  11. snap — to click
  12. net — after costs
  13. field — a subject
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. bound — tied together
  16. bound — certain
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. row — a line
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. sharp — clever

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