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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: bass · race · sharp · spring · plane · fine · mine · date

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bass — low music
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. fine — high quality
  5. date — the fruit
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. race — a contest
  8. race — the arms race
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. plane — a tool
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. sharp — clever
  18. spring — of water
  19. race — humankind
  20. spring — a coil
  21. fine — all right
  22. bass — the fish
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. spring — the season

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