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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: bass · date · shower · suit · stem · plane · content · mine

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. suit — to fit
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. date — the fruit
  8. bass — the fish
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. mine — for digging
  12. plane — a tool
  13. suit — in cards
  14. shower — to wash
  15. stem — to come from
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bass — low music
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. suit — clothes
  20. shower — rain
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. content — the amount
  24. content — happy

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