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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: wound · snap · trunk · cold · cell · mug · present · shower

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — an illness
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. cold — not warm
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. shower — rain
  9. cell — in biology
  10. shower — to wash
  11. wound — an injury
  12. present — a gift
  13. cell — a phone
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. snap — to click
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. present — there
  18. mug — a cup
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. mug — a face
  22. mug — to rob
  23. present — the time now
  24. trunk — of a car

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