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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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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: band · stock · shower · hide · row · kick

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. band — a ring
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. stock — goods
  6. shower — to wash
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. row — a line
  9. row — to paddle
  10. stock — shares
  11. band — a music group
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. kick — in football
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. shower — rain
  18. hide — to keep secret

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