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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: shower · ground · cell · lash · trunk · stand · mine · hide

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. shower — to wash
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — a phone
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. ground — a position
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. stand — to bear
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. mine — for digging
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. ground — crushed
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. shower — rain

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