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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: land · roll · shower · nail · plane · date · kid · wave

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. land — to come down
  5. roll — a cake
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. land — a country
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — to wash
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. date — the fruit
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. roll — a list
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. kid — child
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — in geometry

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