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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the fish
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. saw — the tool
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. band — a music group
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — rain
  13. saw — the tool
  14. pitch — completely
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. plane — a tool
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. plane — an aircraft

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