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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chest · can · wound · wake · cell · shower · perch · rash

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. cell — a phone
  3. can — to be able to
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. cell — in biology
  6. wake — a trail
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. wound — an injury
  9. can — a tin
  10. chest — of your body
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. chest — of your body
  13. shower — rain
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. perch — the fish
  18. chest — a box
  19. can — a tin
  20. rash — a series
  21. rash — hasty
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. wound — an injury
  24. shower — to wash

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