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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.

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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: bat · ground · hide · sharp · stick · wind · rest · shower

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. shower — to wash
  3. rest — a break
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — what's left
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. ground — the earth
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. wind — moving air
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. ground — a position
  19. sharp — clever
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. ground — crushed
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bat — the animal

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