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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: can · trunk · wound · shower · fall · wind · temple · tear

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wound — an injury
  4. shower — to wash
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fall — the season
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. wind — moving air
  11. can — a tin
  12. fall — to drop
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. can — a tin
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. can — to be able to
  19. tear — from crying
  20. fall — to drop
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. tear — to rip
  23. shower — rain
  24. trunk — of a tree

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