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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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Word bank
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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: drill · rock · wave · tear · spell · cell

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. cell — a phone
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. rock — music
  5. drill — the tool
  6. spell — a short time
  7. tear — from crying
  8. drill — army training
  9. rock — a stone
  10. spell — letters
  11. tear — to rip
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. tear — from crying
  14. drill — a practice
  15. spell — magic
  16. cell — in biology
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. wave — with your hand

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