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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 120 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: cold · snap · wake · mouse · lie · cell · bore · temple

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. bore — to tire
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cold — not warm
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. cell — a phone
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to click
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bore — to drill
  17. lie — to recline
  18. wake — a trail
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. cold — an illness

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