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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: cell · hide · wake · cold · snap · wave · shower · kid

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. shower — to wash
  4. kid — child
  5. snap — to click
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. cell — in biology
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. shower — rain
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. kid — to tease
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cell — a phone
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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