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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
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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: bulb · ground · shower · snap · hide · spring · file · toast

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. toast — bread
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. ground — the earth
  8. spring — a coil
  9. file — a tool
  10. bulb — for light
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. shower — to wash
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — the season
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. shower — rain
  18. ground — a position
  19. file — a document
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. snap — to click
  22. ground — crushed
  23. bulb — for light
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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