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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 116 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: shower · field · cabinet · pop · race · hide · can · kid

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. race — a contest
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. shower — rain
  6. field — a subject
  7. can — to be able to
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. can — a tin
  12. pop — to visit
  13. kid — child
  14. race — the arms race
  15. can — a tin
  16. pop — music
  17. race — humankind
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. field — for sport
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. pop — soda
  24. kid — to tease

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