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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 116 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: stick · shower · cold · spell · dip · key · wake · drill

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wake — a trail
  4. drill — the tool
  5. shower — to wash
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. cold — an illness
  9. key — in music
  10. spell — a short time
  11. key — the most important part
  12. spell — letters
  13. dip — to sink
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. key — for a lock
  17. spell — magic
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. drill — a practice
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. shower — rain

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