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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: clip · bay · arm · hide · content · racket · shower · pop

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. pop — to visit
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. pop — soda
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. pop — music
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. content — happy
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — to cut
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. content — the amount
  22. shower — rain
  23. clip — for paper
  24. racket — for tennis

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