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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: spell · rock · dip · net · shower · ground · lean · rest

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. net — after costs
  3. rock — music
  4. ground — the earth
  5. net — for catching
  6. lean — thin
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. rest — a break
  9. rest — what's left
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. ground — a position
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. net — in sport
  14. rest — what's left
  15. ground — crushed
  16. spell — letters
  17. spell — magic
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. lean — to bend
  20. shower — rain
  21. spell — a short time
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. dip — to sink
  24. rock — a stone

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