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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: row · cell · wake · shower · tube · sharp · bore · hide

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. shower — to wash
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. cell — in biology
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. row — a line
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. wake — a trail
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. bore — to tire
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bore — to drill
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. tube — a container
  23. sharp — clever
  24. row — to paddle

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