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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

Word bank: shower · hide · rule · fine · march · chair

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. fine — all right
  3. shower — to wash
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. shower — rain
  7. march — music
  8. chair — a leader
  9. rule — a law
  10. rule — government
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. march — the month
  15. fine — high quality
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. march — the month

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