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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · rash · jam · last · content · shower · fall · sharp

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. fall — to drop
  3. last — to go on
  4. shower — rain
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. last — final
  7. content — happy
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. last — finally
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. rash — hasty
  12. fall — the season
  13. content — the amount
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — clever
  16. spell — magic
  17. fall — to drop
  18. spell — letters
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. rash — a series
  24. spell — a short time

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