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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 120 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: shower · drill · tear · bank · kid · spell · game · rush

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. drill — the tool
  6. spell — a short time
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. rush — hurry
  9. game — a match
  10. drill — army training
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bank — for money
  13. tear — from crying
  14. spell — letters
  15. bank — for money
  16. spell — magic
  17. shower — to wash
  18. kid — to tease
  19. tear — to rip
  20. kid — child
  21. game — wild animals
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. bank — of a river
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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