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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: court · nail · plane · sharp · squash · stem · swing · spring

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. plane — a tool
  5. squash — to crush
  6. squash — the sport
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. spring — a coil
  11. sharp — clever
  12. spring — the season
  13. swing — in golf
  14. court — of a king
  15. swing — to play on
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. court — of law
  18. court — for sport
  19. spring — of water
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. swing — music
  24. nail — on a finger

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