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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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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: mate · shower · field · snap · hide · present · current · cell

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. present — there
  3. current — of water
  4. field — for sport
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. mate — a partner
  9. field — a subject
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. cell — in biology
  12. shower — rain
  13. cell — a phone
  14. field — farmland
  15. current — happening now
  16. mate — a friend
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. current — electric
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. present — the time now
  22. snap — to click
  23. mate — to breed
  24. present — a gift

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