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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 120 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: plane · rush · pound · clip · rock · spring · pitcher · game

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. game — a match
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. game — wild animals
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. clip — to cut
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. rock — music
  12. plane — a tool
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — for paper
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. spring — a coil
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. rock — a stone
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. spring — the season
  22. pound — a weight
  23. rush — hurry
  24. spring — of water

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