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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · land · field · shower · perch · content · chip · lie

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. chip — to eat
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. land — ground
  6. field — a subject
  7. chip — for betting
  8. perch — the fish
  9. content — the amount
  10. field — for sport
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — happy
  13. land — to come down
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. shower — rain
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. field — farmland
  18. shower — to wash
  19. lie — to recline
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. land — a country
  24. lie — an untruth

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