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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: hide · mouse · saw · kid · race · row · shower · fall

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  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. row — to paddle
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. saw — the tool
  8. kid — to tease
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. race — humankind
  12. saw — the tool
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. fall — the season
  15. shower — to wash
  16. row — a line
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. fall — to drop
  19. shower — rain
  20. kid — child
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — a contest
  23. fall — to drop
  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