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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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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: row · hide · cold · shower · snap · trunk · squash · staff

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. squash — the sport
  6. staff — a stick
  7. cold — not warm
  8. row — a line
  9. staff — employees
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. row — to paddle
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. shower — to wash
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. squash — to crush
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. snap — to click
  18. shower — rain
  19. staff — employees
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — the Cold War

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