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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: shower · race · field · plane · lie · bass · cap · date

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. field — for sport
  3. date — the fruit
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. race — a contest
  6. field — farmland
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. cap — a hat
  10. race — the arms race
  11. plane — a tool
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. shower — to wash
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. cap — of ice
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. race — humankind
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. cap — a lid
  22. bass — the fish
  23. field — a subject
  24. bass — low music

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