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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.

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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 · pound · field · pit · court · pitcher · sharp · calf

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. plane — a tool
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. court — of law
  8. sharp — clever
  9. field — farmland
  10. pit — a hole
  11. court — for sport
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. court — of a king
  19. field — for sport
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. pound — a weight
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. field — a subject

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