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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 · cap · root · hide · fall · content · bowl

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. fall — the season
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. shower — to wash
  5. content — happy
  6. cap — of ice
  7. content — the amount
  8. root — of a plant
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. fall — to drop
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. cap — a lid
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. root — of a word
  20. fall — to drop
  21. root — the cause
  22. cap — a hat
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. hide — to keep secret

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