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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: hide · shower · leaves · pass · row · ground · chest · current

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. shower — to wash
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. chest — of your body
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. pass — a permit
  7. ground — the earth
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. chest — a box
  10. shower — rain
  11. row — to paddle
  12. current — happening now
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. ground — crushed
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. current — electric
  20. row — a line
  21. chest — of your body
  22. ground — a position
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. current — of water

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