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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: squash · shower · kid · clip · bat · net · scale · hide

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. net — in sport
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. clip — a video
  5. shower — to wash
  6. net — for catching
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. kid — child
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. shower — rain
  15. bat — the animal
  16. scale — in music
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. squash — the sport
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. kid — to tease
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. net — after costs

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