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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: last · cap · pop · wake · spell · pitcher · shower · drill

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. pop — music
  3. drill — army training
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a hat
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pop — soda
  10. last — finally
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. drill — a practice
  13. spell — a short time
  14. cap — a lid
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. spell — letters
  18. last — final
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — to wash
  21. pop — to visit
  22. wake — a trail
  23. drill — the tool
  24. last — to go on

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