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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.

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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: stem · row · stick · snap · kid · hide · shower · net

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. net — after costs
  4. stem — to come from
  5. row — a line
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. net — in sport
  10. snap — to click
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. row — to paddle
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — rain
  16. kid — child
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. kid — to tease
  24. net — for catching

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