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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: lie · shower · arm · rule · spell · rash · cold · drill

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. drill — the tool
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. spell — magic
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. rule — government
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rash — a series
  11. spell — letters
  12. cold — an illness
  13. drill — army training
  14. cold — not warm
  15. lie — to recline
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — rain
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. rule — a law
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. drill — a practice
  23. rash — hasty
  24. spell — a short time

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