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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: plane · spring · stick · ground · court · bat · hide · fine

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. spring — a coil
  4. ground — the earth
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. fine — all right
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. ground — a position
  9. court — of a king
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. ground — crushed
  12. fine — high quality
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. court — for sport
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — of water
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. bat — the animal
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. plane — a tool
  24. court — of law

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