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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · bowl · hide · wound · saw · cabinet · band · wind

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. band — a ring
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wind — moving air
  5. hand — in cards
  6. saw — the tool
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. hand — help
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. wind — moving air
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a music group
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. wound — an injury

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