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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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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: ball · race · plane · chest · bear · cue · last · pit

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. last — final
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. last — finally
  7. cue — a hint
  8. chest — of your body
  9. race — the arms race
  10. pit — in a race
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. bear — the animal
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a great time
  15. pit — a hole
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. chest — a box
  18. race — humankind
  19. cue — a signal
  20. race — a contest
  21. cue — for pool
  22. chest — of your body
  23. last — to go on
  24. bear — the animal

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