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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: shower · staff · scale · band · rash · bore · hide · swing

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. swing — music
  3. staff — employees
  4. bore — to drill
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. rash — hasty
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. staff — employees
  9. band — a ring
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. staff — a stick
  12. scale — in music
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — size or range
  16. shower — to wash
  17. rash — a series
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. bore — to tire
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. band — a music group
  22. swing — to play on
  23. shower — rain
  24. swing — in golf

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