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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 · land · date · drill · hand · mug · fall · key

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. land — ground
  5. shower — rain
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. date — the fruit
  9. hand — help
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. drill — a practice
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. key — in music
  14. drill — army training
  15. shower — to wash
  16. land — to come down
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. key — the most important part
  19. mug — a face
  20. fall — to drop
  21. drill — the tool
  22. mug — to rob
  23. mug — a cup
  24. key — for a lock

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