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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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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: hide · cap · chest · rest · leaves · court · file · shower

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cap — a hat
  4. chest — of your body
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. file — a tool
  8. rest — what's left
  9. court — of law
  10. file — a document
  11. shower — rain
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. chest — a box
  15. cap — of ice
  16. rest — what's left
  17. court — of a king
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. chest — of your body
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. court — for sport
  23. file — a line of people
  24. shower — to wash

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