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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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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 · wound · wave · pit · club · root · spell

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. drill — a practice
  3. shower — rain
  4. root — of a plant
  5. shower — to wash
  6. pit — a hole
  7. club — for golf
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. root — of a word
  12. club — a group
  13. spell — magic
  14. drill — army training
  15. club — for dancing
  16. root — the cause
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spell — letters
  19. drill — the tool
  20. spell — a short time
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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