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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.

Words on the sheet
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: date · shower · hide · spring · plane · straw · file · racket

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. shower — rain
  3. file — a tool
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. spring — of water
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. plane — a tool
  13. date — the fruit
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. shower — to wash
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — a coil
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. file — a document
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. file — a line of people
  24. date — on the calendar

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