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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.

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: bore · face · stem · sharp · shower · bark · hide · kid

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — to confront
  4. kid — child
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. shower — rain
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. kid — to tease
  19. face — part of the head
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bore — to drill
  24. stem — to come from

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