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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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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: plane · pass · kid · scale · tear · club · shower · date

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. club — a group
  3. pass — a permit
  4. kid — to tease
  5. shower — to wash
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. date — the fruit
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — in music
  12. shower — rain
  13. club — for golf
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. plane — a tool
  17. kid — child
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. club — for dancing
  23. tear — from crying
  24. plane — an aircraft

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