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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: court · land · season · calf · tear · plane

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. season — of the year
  4. tear — from crying
  5. season — in sport
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. tear — to rip
  8. land — a country
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. tear — from crying
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — for sport
  14. plane — a tool
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. land — ground
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. court — of law

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