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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.

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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: wind · bay · hide · deal · clip · kid · band · shower

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. kid — to tease
  3. shower — rain
  4. deal — to handle
  5. band — a ring
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. shower — to wash
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wind — moving air
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. band — a music group
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. kid — child
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — a video
  24. hide — to keep secret

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