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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: bass · shower · pitcher · hide · hand · bat · rule · lie

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bass — low music
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. rule — government
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. lie — to recline
  16. shower — rain
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hand — help
  22. shower — to wash
  23. rule — a law
  24. bat — the animal

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