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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: band · pitch · plane · spell · ball · straw · file · court

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. court — for sport
  4. band — a music group
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. court — of a king
  11. band — a ring
  12. file — a document
  13. court — of law
  14. ball — a great time
  15. spell — letters
  16. plane — a tool
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. pitch — completely
  19. spell — magic
  20. file — a tool
  21. spell — a short time
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. ball — a dance

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