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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.

Make a worksheet

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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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: kick · object · root · bear · cold · bass · shower · hide

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. object — to protest
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. object — an aim
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. bear — the animal
  8. root — of a plant
  9. bass — low music
  10. bear — the animal
  11. shower — to wash
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. root — of a word
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. shower — rain
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. root — the cause
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. object — a thing
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bass — the fish
  24. kick — in football

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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