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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mug · land · date · plane · drill · bat · bass · saw

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. date — the fruit
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. land — to come down
  6. drill — the tool
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. mug — a face
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. land — a country
  11. drill — army training
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. land — ground
  14. mug — to rob
  15. bass — the fish
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. mug — a cup
  18. drill — a practice
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. plane — a tool
  24. bass — low music

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