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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 116 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: craft · snap · wound · deal · shower · hide · track · fork

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. track — a path
  5. craft — boats
  6. shower — to wash
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. craft — a skill
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. snap — to click
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. track — a song
  19. track — to keep track
  20. shower — rain
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. deal — to handle
  23. fork — in a road
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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