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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. kick — in football
  12. net — for catching
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. prune — to trim
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. prune — to trim
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. net — after costs
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. clip — for paper
  23. shower — to wash
  24. net — in sport

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