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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 116 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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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. hand — help
  4. ground — a position
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. ground — the earth
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bore — to tire
  11. content — happy
  12. ground — crushed
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. kid — child
  16. hand — in cards
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. content — the amount
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. shower — rain
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. kid — to tease

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