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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: present · plane · craft · shower · drill · lean · date · spring

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. lean — thin
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. drill — the tool
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — to wash
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. plane — a tool
  10. lean — to bend
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. present — there
  14. present — the time now
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. spring — of water
  19. craft — a skill
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — army training
  22. date — the fruit
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. craft — boats

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