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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: shower · rash · lie · wound · fall · cue · spell · can

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. can — to be able to
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — a tin
  5. cue — a signal
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. spell — magic
  9. fall — to drop
  10. rash — a series
  11. cue — a hint
  12. spell — a short time
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fall — the season
  18. shower — rain
  19. cue — for pool
  20. lie — to recline
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. spell — letters
  23. shower — to wash
  24. wound — an injury

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