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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: chest · plane · tube · safe · roll · bass · ground · shower

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. roll — a cake
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. chest — a box
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. ground — crushed
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. chest — of your body
  10. tube — a container
  11. shower — to wash
  12. ground — the earth
  13. roll — a list
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. bass — the fish
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. shower — rain
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. tube — the underground
  20. bass — low music
  21. plane — a tool
  22. chest — of your body
  23. ground — a position
  24. safe — a strongbox

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