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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 · cell · key · present · land · plane · kid · shower

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. land — ground
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. land — to come down
  7. key — for a lock
  8. bass — low music
  9. cell — a phone
  10. kid — child
  11. shower — to wash
  12. key — in music
  13. land — a country
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. kid — to tease
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. present — a gift
  19. bass — the fish
  20. present — the time now
  21. plane — a tool
  22. key — the most important part
  23. cell — in biology
  24. present — there

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