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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: shower · bound · plane · bass · cap · saw · last · bowl

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. bass — the fish
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. last — final
  5. bound — tied together
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bound — certain
  8. shower — to wash
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. bass — low music
  14. last — finally
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. cap — a lid
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. last — to go on
  19. plane — a tool
  20. shower — rain
  21. bound — obliged
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. cap — of ice

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