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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: cue · cold · snap · wound · trunk · pass · scale · ground

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ 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. wound — an injury
  3. scale — size or range
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cue — a signal
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wound — an injury
  10. ground — a position
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. ground — the earth
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. cue — for pool
  17. pass — a permit
  18. cue — a hint
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. snap — to click
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. ground — crushed
  23. scale — in music
  24. pass — to spend time

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