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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: roll · shower · content · squash · jam · tear · bass · plane

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. content — the amount
  3. tear — to rip
  4. content — happy
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — to wash
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. shower — rain
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bass — low music
  14. bass — the fish
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. plane — a tool
  17. tear — from crying
  18. roll — a cake
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. squash — the sport
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. roll — a list

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