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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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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 · sharp · bass · plane · deal · field · pit · wake

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. field — for sport
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. plane — a tool
  6. wake — a trail
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. pit — a hole
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. pit — in a race
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. deal — to handle
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. shower — to wash
  20. field — a subject
  21. sharp — clever
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bass — low music
  24. field — farmland

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