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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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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: ball · shower · present · hide · wake · lean · net · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. ball — a great time
  4. shower — rain
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. lean — thin
  9. net — after costs
  10. shower — to wash
  11. cold — an illness
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. net — in sport
  14. ball — a dance
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. present — a gift
  17. present — there
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. lean — to bend
  21. net — for catching
  22. wake — a trail
  23. present — the time now
  24. lean — to rest against

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