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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 120 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: net · hide · kid · row · rest · pass · root · bank

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. root — of a word
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. rest — what's left
  5. kid — child
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. bank — for money
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. net — after costs
  10. pass — a permit
  11. net — in sport
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. kid — to tease
  14. rest — a break
  15. rest — what's left
  16. net — for catching
  17. row — a line
  18. row — to paddle
  19. root — the cause
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. bank — of a river
  22. root — of a plant
  23. bank — for money
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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