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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: snap · craft · hide · prune · safe · wind · hand · land

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. land — to come down
  7. snap — to click
  8. hand — in cards
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. wind — moving air
  12. craft — boats
  13. hand — help
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. wind — moving air
  16. prune — to trim
  17. land — ground
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. craft — a skill
  20. land — a country
  21. prune — to trim
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. safe — out of danger

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