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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. spell — magic
  3. drill — army training
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. drill — the tool
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. drill — a practice
  8. last — to go on
  9. shower — to wash
  10. squash — the sport
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. fall — to drop
  13. dip — to sink
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. last — finally
  16. bat — the animal
  17. fall — to drop
  18. squash — to crush
  19. spell — letters
  20. fall — the season
  21. spell — a short time
  22. last — final
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bat — in an idiom

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