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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: plane · craft · bark · court · ground · cue · bat · date

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  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. bat — the animal
  2. cue — a signal
  3. ground — the earth
  4. craft — a skill
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. bark — to shout
  8. craft — boats
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. date — the fruit
  11. cue — a hint
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. ground — a position
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. cue — for pool
  16. court — of law
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — for sport
  20. plane — a tool
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. ground — crushed
  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