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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 120 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: march · plane · nail · shower · bass · rush · mine · game

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. shower — rain
  3. bass — low music
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — for digging
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. shower — to wash
  13. game — a match
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. march — music
  16. bass — the fish
  17. march — the month
  18. game — wild animals
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. plane — a tool
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. mine — belonging to me

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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