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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
468
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 · present · cap · pass · mine · file · shower · drill

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. drill — the tool
  3. shower — rain
  4. present — a gift
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — a hat
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. present — the time now
  10. spell — a short time
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — army training
  13. spell — letters
  14. file — a document
  15. cap — of ice
  16. spell — magic
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. file — a line of people
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — for digging
  21. shower — to wash
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. present — there
  24. file — a tool

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