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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: spell · shower · bore · pop · current · straw · fall · content

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. current — happening now
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. spell — letters
  5. fall — the season
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — magic
  8. shower — rain
  9. current — of water
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. bore — to drill
  12. pop — music
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. shower — to wash
  16. content — the amount
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pop — to visit
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. pop — soda
  21. content — happy
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. bore — to tire
  24. current — electric

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