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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: shower · fan · lean · field · cue · temple · leaves · hide

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. field — farmland
  4. lean — thin
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. cue — for pool
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. cue — a signal
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. shower — to wash
  22. cue — a hint
  23. lean — to bend
  24. shower — rain

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