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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wind · spell · track · season · mouse · shower · drill · fall

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. track — a song
  4. track — to keep track
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. season — in sport
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spell — magic
  9. track — a path
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. drill — a practice
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fall — the season
  16. shower — to wash
  17. fall — to drop
  18. drill — army training
  19. fall — to drop
  20. drill — the tool
  21. shower — rain
  22. wind — moving air
  23. season — of the year
  24. spell — letters

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