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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: straw · shower · suit · rest · drill · pitcher · rash · spring

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. rest — a break
  3. suit — in cards
  4. suit — to fit
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. drill — a practice
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. drill — the tool
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rest — what's left
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. suit — clothes
  14. shower — rain
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. spring — of water
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — the season
  20. rash — a series
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. rest — what's left
  24. shower — to wash

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