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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: last · can · spell · shower · file · cold · dip · ball

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. shower — to wash
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — a short time
  6. file — a line of people
  7. last — to go on
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. file — a tool
  11. shower — rain
  12. can — a tin
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. last — finally
  15. cold — not warm
  16. can — to be able to
  17. cold — an illness
  18. file — a document
  19. dip — to sink
  20. can — a tin
  21. ball — a great time
  22. ball — a dance
  23. last — final
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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