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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: hide · field · last · content · shower · fall · sharp · saw

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. last — final
  5. field — for sport
  6. saw — the tool
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. fall — the season
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. content — happy
  11. field — farmland
  12. last — to go on
  13. shower — to wash
  14. content — the amount
  15. sharp — clever
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. fall — to drop
  18. field — a subject
  19. fall — to drop
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. saw — the tool
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. shower — rain
  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