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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: lie · date · wake · shower · cap · last · spring · bass

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bass — low music
  4. spring — a coil
  5. last — finally
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. lie — to recline
  8. last — final
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. shower — rain
  11. spring — the season
  12. shower — to wash
  13. cap — of ice
  14. wake — a trail
  15. date — the fruit
  16. spring — of water
  17. last — to go on
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — a lid
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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