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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: hide · content · band · wound · spring · key · shower · foot

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. wound — an injury
  8. band — a ring
  9. spring — a coil
  10. shower — rain
  11. foot — a measure
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. band — a music group
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. content — happy
  17. spring — of water
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. content — the amount
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — the most important part
  22. spring — the season
  23. wound — an injury
  24. key — in music

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