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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: date · pitch · spring · content · stem · court · racket · dip

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. date — the fruit
  3. spring — a coil
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. court — of a king
  6. stem — to come from
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. pitch — completely
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. court — of law
  12. dip — to sink
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. content — happy
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — the amount
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. spring — the season
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. court — for sport
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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