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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: wound · spell · shower · stem · mine · hide · trunk · wake

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. wound — an injury
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. shower — rain
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. spell — magic
  9. spell — letters
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stem — to come from
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. wound — an injury
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — to wash
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. mine — for digging
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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