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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: rash · board · stem · wave · plane · bat · squash · court

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. rash — hasty
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. stem — to come from
  7. rash — a series
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. board — a committee
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — of law
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. plane — a tool
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. squash — to crush
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. court — for sport
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. board — to get on
  24. bat — the animal

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