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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 · plane · game · ball · rule · cue · spring · tube

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  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. court — for sport
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — the season
  4. tube — the underground
  5. rule — government
  6. cue — for pool
  7. cue — a signal
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. tube — a container
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. court — of a king
  12. game — a match
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. game — wild animals
  15. ball — a great time
  16. cue — a hint
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. court — of law
  19. ball — a dance
  20. rule — a law
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. plane — a tool
  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