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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: rush · drill · spell · plane · wound · shower · stick · coach

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. spell — letters
  4. wound — an injury
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. drill — a practice
  8. drill — the tool
  9. wound — an injury
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. spell — a short time
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. plane — a tool
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. drill — army training
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. spell — magic
  21. rush — hurry
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. shower — rain

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