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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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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: race · mine · plane · squash · pitch · clip · prune · craft

  1. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. pitch — completely
  3. squash — to crush
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. plane — a tool
  7. prune — to trim
  8. race — a contest
  9. prune — to trim
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. clip — for paper
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. clip — to cut
  15. craft — boats
  16. clip — a video
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. race — humankind
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. craft — a skill
  21. race — the arms race
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. mine — for digging

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