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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pit · spring · shower · saw · wound · hide · rule · ground

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rule — a law
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. pit — in a race
  6. saw — the tool
  7. shower — rain
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. spring — of water
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. ground — the earth
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — the season
  17. wound — an injury
  18. saw — the tool
  19. shower — to wash
  20. pit — a hole
  21. rule — government
  22. ground — a position
  23. wound — an injury
  24. ground — crushed

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