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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 have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — rain
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. field — farmland
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. cap — a lid
  11. kid — child
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — for sport
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. kid — to tease
  18. sharp — clever
  19. cap — a hat
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. cap — of ice
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bass — low music
  24. hide — animal skin

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