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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: hide · club · craft · rash · bat · cap · stick · face

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. craft — boats
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. face — to confront
  11. rash — a series
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bat — the animal
  14. club — a group
  15. cap — a hat
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. craft — a skill
  19. club — for dancing
  20. face — part of the head
  21. club — for golf
  22. face — to point toward
  23. cap — of ice
  24. craft — a handicraft

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