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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.

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: bore · chest · hide · bear · plane · shower · clip · bass

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. bore — to drill
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bass — the fish
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. shower — rain
  8. chest — a box
  9. bear — the animal
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bear — the animal
  13. plane — a tool
  14. clip — to cut
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bass — low music
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. clip — a video
  24. chest — of your body

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