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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: wind · dip · bark · pitch · court · plane · nail · bat

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bark — to shout
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. court — of a king
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pitch — completely
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. dip — to sink
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. plane — a tool
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. court — of law
  21. bat — the animal
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. plane — in geometry

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