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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. firm — decided
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. row — a line
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. kid — child
  11. spell — a short time
  12. bear — the animal
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. shower — to wash
  16. wound — an injury
  17. firm — a company
  18. wound — an injury
  19. spell — letters
  20. firm — steady
  21. row — to paddle
  22. spell — magic
  23. kid — to tease
  24. bear — the animal

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