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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: pitch · deal · perch · spring · track · land · court · bound

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. deal — to handle
  3. court — of a king
  4. spring — the season
  5. land — to come down
  6. spring — of water
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. bound — tied together
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. bound — certain
  11. land — ground
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. track — a song
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. pitch — completely
  16. track — a path
  17. bound — obliged
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. spring — a coil
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. court — of law
  22. land — a country
  23. perch — the fish
  24. court — for sport

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