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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: plane · track · kid · nail · bound · rule · bass · shower

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. bass — low music
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. shower — rain
  8. track — a path
  9. track — to keep track
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. kid — to tease
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. rule — government
  14. bound — certain
  15. bound — obliged
  16. shower — to wash
  17. plane — a tool
  18. bass — the fish
  19. rule — a law
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. bound — tied together
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. track — a song

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