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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
468
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: plane · lie · court · tube · spring · pitch · wound · race

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. tube — a container
  3. race — humankind
  4. court — of a king
  5. plane — a tool
  6. tube — the underground
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. spring — of water
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. race — the arms race
  11. lie — to recline
  12. pitch — completely
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. wound — an injury
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. race — a contest
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. wound — an injury
  21. spring — the season
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of law
  24. tube — in a tire

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