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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: drill · mark · shower · rush · hand · rash · wake · last

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. hand — help
  3. drill — a practice
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rash — a series
  6. last — final
  7. last — finally
  8. drill — the tool
  9. mark — a trace
  10. hand — in cards
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. wake — a trail
  16. mark — a grade
  17. shower — rain
  18. rush — hurry
  19. last — to go on
  20. shower — to wash
  21. rash — hasty
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. drill — army training
  24. hand — part of the body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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