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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: shower · swing · wind · plane · fine · ground · race · fan

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. ground — a position
  3. fine — all right
  4. fine — high quality
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. plane — a tool
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. swing — in golf
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. swing — to play on
  11. ground — crushed
  12. race — the arms race
  13. wind — moving air
  14. shower — to wash
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. race — humankind
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. swing — music
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. race — a contest
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. shower — rain
  24. wind — moving air

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