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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. lean — thin
  3. race — a contest
  4. court — for sport
  5. track — a path
  6. track — a song
  7. race — humankind
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. court — of a king
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. can — a tin
  13. race — the arms race
  14. court — of law
  15. track — to keep track
  16. lean — to bend
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. pitch — completely
  19. rock — a stone
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — to be able to
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. plane — a tool

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