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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: land · hide · kid · stand · fork · jam · pitcher · court

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. land — to come down
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. land — ground
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. court — for sport
  12. kid — to tease
  13. stand — to bear
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. court — of law
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. land — a country
  20. fork — in a road
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. court — of a king
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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