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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spring · race · content · lash · plane · pitcher · mine · dip

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. spring — of water
  6. plane — a tool
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. spring — a coil
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — a contest
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. race — the arms race
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. dip — to sink
  15. content — the amount
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — happy
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. spring — the season
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. mine — for digging
  24. plane — an aircraft

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