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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: kid · cold · mouse · snap · pitch · trunk · safe · bank

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  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 click
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. cold — not warm
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. bank — for money
  11. bank — for money
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. pitch — completely
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bank — of a river
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. mouse — the animal
  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