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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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468
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: cell · race · trunk · plane · rash · game · spring · racket

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — of water
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — a contest
  10. cell — a phone
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. plane — a tool
  14. game — a match
  15. rash — a series
  16. spring — a coil
  17. rash — hasty
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. race — humankind
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. cell — in biology
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. racket — for tennis

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