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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 120 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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bore — to drill
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — child
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. row — a line
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. wind — moving air
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. capital — a city
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. shower — to wash
  18. bore — to tire
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. wind — moving air
  23. row — to paddle
  24. capital — money

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