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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: bass · roll · lean · fan · date · shower

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. lean — thin
  3. roll — a cake
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. shower — rain
  6. lean — to bend
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. shower — to wash
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. date — the fruit
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. roll — a list
  14. bass — low music
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bass — the fish
  18. date — on the calendar

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