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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.

Make a worksheet

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: shower · chest · cabinet · ground · date · prune · plane · racket

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  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. ground — a position
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. ground — the earth
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. plane — a tool
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. shower — rain
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. prune — to trim
  13. ground — crushed
  14. date — the fruit
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. chest — of your body
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. shower — to wash
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  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