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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 · shower · wind · snap · trunk · lean · stem · press

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. wind — moving air
  5. shower — to wash
  6. press — to push
  7. stem — to come from
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. press — newspapers
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. lean — to bend
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. lean — thin
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. shower — rain
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. press — a publisher
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. snap — to click

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