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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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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: kick · hide · shower · stand · root · bass · wound · swing

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bass — low music
  3. kick — in football
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. shower — rain
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. root — the cause
  8. shower — to wash
  9. swing — to play on
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. swing — music
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. wound — an injury
  16. stand — to bear
  17. wound — an injury
  18. swing — in golf
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. root — of a word
  22. root — of a plant
  23. bass — the fish
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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