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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: trunk · pass · dip · rash · spring · cap · wound · snap

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. cap — a hat
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. wound — an injury
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cap — of ice
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pass — a permit
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rash — hasty
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. spring — a coil
  22. snap — to click
  23. spring — the season
  24. dip — to sink

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