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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 120 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: drill · mate · perch · rock · key · shower · hand · band

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. shower — to wash
  3. mate — a partner
  4. drill — a practice
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a music group
  7. rock — a stone
  8. shower — rain
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. rock — music
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. key — for a lock
  14. drill — army training
  15. mate — to breed
  16. hand — in cards
  17. drill — the tool
  18. key — the most important part
  19. key — in music
  20. perch — the fish
  21. mate — a friend
  22. hand — help
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — for a bird

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