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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: hand · tube · craft · band · hide · lean · ground · pass

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — the earth
  5. tube — a container
  6. band — a music group
  7. tube — the underground
  8. band — a ring
  9. pass — a permit
  10. lean — thin
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. hand — help
  16. craft — a skill
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. ground — a position
  20. lean — to bend
  21. hand — in cards
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. lean — to rest against

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