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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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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: present · leaves · bore · kid · ground · hide · shower · straw

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. present — there
  6. ground — crushed
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. ground — the earth
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. shower — rain
  13. ground — a position
  14. present — the time now
  15. kid — child
  16. shower — to wash
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. bore — to drill
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. present — a gift
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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