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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 116 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: wound · spring · pitcher · wake · racket · plane · saw · ground

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. spring — of water
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. ground — a position
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wake — a trail
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. plane — a tool
  12. wound — an injury
  13. ground — crushed
  14. spring — a coil
  15. wound — an injury
  16. saw — the tool
  17. spring — the season
  18. saw — the tool
  19. ground — the earth
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. pitcher — a jug

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