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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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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: bore · hide · shower · rush · mouse · land · cell · lean

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. lean — to bend
  3. shower — to wash
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. land — a country
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. bore — to tire
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. land — ground
  13. bore — to drill
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. cell — a phone
  16. rush — hurry
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. lean — thin
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. cell — in biology
  24. shower — rain

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