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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: date · rush · leaves · bass · land · saw · nail · cell

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. land — ground
  3. saw — the tool
  4. date — the fruit
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — a phone
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bass — the fish
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. rush — hurry
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. land — to come down
  19. bass — low music
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. land — a country
  23. saw — the tool
  24. nail — for a hammer

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