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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 120 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
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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: rock · hide · content · dip · capital · cell · calf · shower

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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. capital — a big letter
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. shower — to wash
  6. dip — to sink
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. content — happy
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. capital — a city
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. rock — music
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. cell — a phone
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. cell — in biology
  21. rock — a stone
  22. shower — rain
  23. capital — money
  24. hide — animal skin

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