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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 120 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 · cell · snap · bound · hide · craft · land · temple

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. craft — a skill
  3. land — to come down
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. land — ground
  6. hand — help
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bound — tied together
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. cell — a phone
  13. craft — boats
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. cell — in biology
  17. snap — to click
  18. bound — certain
  19. land — a country
  20. bound — obliged
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — animal skin

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