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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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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: nail · hide · craft · pound · clip · cap · wind · snap

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pound — a weight
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. cap — a hat
  11. craft — boats
  12. wind — moving air
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. cap — of ice
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. clip — a video
  17. snap — to click
  18. craft — a skill
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cap — a lid
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. clip — for paper
  24. pound — for dogs

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