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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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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: rest · shower · hide · temple · sharp · stand · wind · kid

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. kid — to tease
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. rest — a break
  5. shower — to wash
  6. wind — moving air
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. shower — rain
  9. wind — moving air
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. rest — what's left
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. rest — what's left
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. stand — to bear
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. sharp — clever
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. kid — child
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. stand — for spectators

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