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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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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: saw · ball · kick · kid · shower · hide

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. ball — a dance
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — to wash
  12. ball — a great time
  13. kid — to tease
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. shower — rain
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. kick — in football
  18. saw — the tool

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