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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: snap · shower · wound · coach · stem · sharp · clip · wake

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. sharp — clever
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wound — an injury
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. clip — to cut
  9. stem — to come from
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. shower — rain
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. snap — to click
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. clip — a video
  17. shower — to wash
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. clip — for paper
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. sharp — exactly

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