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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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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 · content · kid · leaves · shower · bay · bat · perch

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — child
  17. content — the amount
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — the fish
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. content — happy
  23. bat — the animal
  24. content — videos and posts

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