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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: race · court · stem · plane · date · jam · wound · leaves

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. stem — to come from
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of law
  10. date — the fruit
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. wound — an injury
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. race — humankind
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. plane — a tool
  21. race — a contest
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. race — the arms race
  24. plane — in geometry

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