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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 · bank · hide · degree · rash · net · drill · spell

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. spell — a short time
  3. degree — temperature
  4. net — in sport
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. spell — magic
  7. degree — an amount
  8. drill — army training
  9. degree — from a university
  10. drill — the tool
  11. bank — for money
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. bank — of a river
  14. bank — for money
  15. rash — a series
  16. net — after costs
  17. spell — letters
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. drill — a practice
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — to wash
  23. rash — hasty
  24. hide — to keep secret

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