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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cold · wound · land · net · hide · shower · content · calf

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. cold — not warm
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — rain
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. content — happy
  9. content — the amount
  10. wound — an injury
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. net — in sport
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. wound — an injury
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. land — a country
  19. shower — to wash
  20. net — after costs
  21. land — ground
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. land — to come down

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