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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: row · bark · mate · hide · shower · ruler · cell · leaves

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cell — in biology
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. row — to paddle
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. bark — to shout
  12. mate — a partner
  13. cell — a phone
  14. shower — rain
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. row — a line
  17. mate — to breed
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. shower — to wash
  20. mate — a friend
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. row — a quarrel

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