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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: temple · cell · mine · pound · wound · cue · snap · wind

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. wind — moving air
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. cell — in biology
  6. snap — to click
  7. cue — a hint
  8. mine — for digging
  9. wind — moving air
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pound — a weight
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cue — a signal
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. wound — an injury
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — belonging to me

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